Rewritten: Welcome Home, Nikita Grace
by Monkey.gone.to.heaven
Summary: Rewritten: Nikita Grace had lived her life in secrets and lies. A secret, Cora Hale was her childhood best friend who died in an accidental fire. A lie, there is no supernatural world. Dive into a world where secrets are uncovered, lies are exposed and uncoventional encounters with the supernatural bring unlikey friends and a Stiles.
1. Intro

**Hello everyone! So i'm rewriting the story, at least the first two seasons. I reread all of these and WOW my writing was pretty craptastic especially the first story. The main plot will remain the same, you may see a difference in some of the OC's but i promise your favorite bad boy will stay the same (for those of you who have read already, you know who i'm talking about) This time around I will try my best to paint the scenes more vividly and try to make the plot a bit more clear. **

**This story starts a bit slow, but I promise i'm just putting the dominoes in place. If you have read any of my stories you know I base the chapters on songs, and I time the songs to fit the chapter. (***) Indicates where the song will start. **

**Enjoy the story and please I need feed back and criticism to help guide me!**

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**Welcome Home - Radical Face**

***"I never thought I would be back here." She sighed as she looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. This place held nothing but morbid memories, memories of the day she lost her best friend, Cora.

It was already day two in Beacon Hills and she wanted to hop in her Mini Cooper and drive all the way back to L.A. Los Ageles was her home, not Beacon Hills, although she was born and raised in Beacon Hills until the age of nine.

Los Angeles was perfect to her, perfect weather, perfect night life, perfect friends. It's been a few weeks after the death of her mother, and as a result she was stuck in the dumpy little town of Beacon Hills.

Nikita rubbed at her eyes enough to see little red stars dancing behind her eyelids. She remembered the funeral, the way Walter tried to give her fatherly advice "These things happen, Nikita." Was all he said. The little quotes on the back of her tampon box could have given her better advice than her own father. He might have been her father, but she only called him by his first name. Her parents had split when she moved to L.A with her mother. He was a prominent chief surgeon at Beacon Hills Hospital, the youngest one. He was loved and respected by most, but to her he was only a stranger.

Niki took a good look in the mirror, the light in her olive green eyes had gone dull, the bags under her eyes gave evidence that she was having sleepless nights. Her long chestnut brown hair had lost its volume and shine as it curled limply. With a fake smile she greeted herself in the mirror as if she was talking to a stranger, meeting new people all over again was the last thing she wanted to do. She saw absolutely no point in trying to make friends, too much of an effort. "Hi, I'm Nikita Grace, I like to fill my pillowcase with bars of soap and beat the shit out of elderly people." Her single dimple emerged on her face, she hated that dimple.

Her fingers wrapped around the thin chain on her neck and gently pulled out the heart shaped necklace. It was a small silver heart with the initials NGCH engraved on it, the only present she kept from her father.

The guest bedroom was between the bathroom and her bedroom. She looked at the dusty room for a heartbeat's moment. It was bare, except for the glass cabinets covered in cloth. She knew in the glass cabinets were all of her trophies and achievements anything from : Karate, track and field, piano, tennis, ballet, swim, and cross country. To the right of the cabinet was a painting, also covered with a cloth. It was a portrait of her mother, Niki didn't dare go near it…she wasn't ready yet.

With a sigh she walked to her bedroom. It was large in size and completely empty. Just like the rest of the house, it was nothing but an empty shell, too big for the two of them. Walter was smart for getting rid of all her old furniture. The white walls were practically begging to be painted, the mint green paint can was open and waiting. Just then she heard the doorbell ringing

"Well, it's not for me…Sooo I'm going to pretend I'm not here."

Again the doorbell rang, after a few more times an agitated Nikita ran down the stairs and swung the door wide open, ready to tell off whoever was on the other side. Sunlight blinded her eyes, as she had been hiding in her cave since she arrived. Her face scrunched in the most unattractive manner as she saw two fit young men standing in front of her. One was tan and tall, with the most adorable dimples on his face. The other looked like he could possibly model for Abercrombie and Fitch with his perfect jaw line and brilliant blue eyes.

Niki tried to conceal most of her body behind the door, she only had on yoga pants and an old dirty Strokes band shirt on. "Did I even bother to put on deodorant today?" she thought to herself as a blush crept on her face.

"Hi, I'm Danny!" he stuck out his hand for a shake, Niki looked down at it in confusion like it was a tentacle.

"Why are people so nice here?" As a city girl it made no sense to her at all. She snapped out of her daze when she saw the awkward glance on his face, immediately she shook his hand.

"Hi, I'm Nikita Grace, I like to stuff my pillow case with bars of soap." She accidently blurted out, just like she practiced.

Danny's eyebrows lifted "W-what?"

She almost slapped her forehead for her idiocy "I'm Nikita Grace."

"Dr. Grace's daughter, right?"

Of course, that would forever and always be her label.

"I'm Danny, I live right across from you." He said with a friendly smile as his thumb pointed to the house behind him. "This is my friend J-"

Abercrombie walked forward and extended his hand "Jackson." His dazzling smile made him even more attractive, and he knew it. He must have practiced that smile in the mirror half a hundred times.

"We noticed you moving in your furniture, would you like some help?" Jackson asked sweetly. Niki opened the door wider and casually leaned against the door frame, trying to play it cool. The voice in her head was screaming at her to make friends "Y-Yeah, that would be great."

The two walked into her large foyer, both looked around the large house completely impressed. "It's just the two of you?" Danny asked, a certain hint of sadness in his voice.

"Just the two of us." Niki replied over her shoulder as she walked up the marble steps, her voice echoing in the empty halls.

They reached her bare room "So, I'm just painting my room, maybe you two should go home and change your shirts?"

Jackson and Danny exchanged smirks as they both peeled off their shirts, revealing their tight six packs and sculpted Apollo's belts. It was hard for Niki to loosen her grip on the paint roller, she almost broke it in half as she observed their bodies. Both of them grabbed a paint brush and selected a wall to start on.

Danny was the first to break the silence "So uh Niki…You used to be really close to the Hale family, right?" To that Jackson smacked the back of Danny's shoulder with a roller, getting green paint on him.

Niki couldn't help but to smile, her laughter made Jackson smile as well "Sorry about that." Jackson apologized on behalf of Danny.

In fact she was very close to them, once upon a time. Her mother was good friends with Talia Hale, her father was best friends with Conroy Hale, the Hale patriarch. Niki and Cora were the closest of friends, always running in the preserves, playing with Laura's makeup, or annoying Derek for the hell of it. Her thumb ran over the initials on the necklace once more.

"It's alright Danny, yeah we used to be really close." She tried her best to hide any sadness in her voice. A chill ran down her spine as she remembered the golden days when the Hale's were her second family. They went back to painting, every once in a while she would catch Abercrombie smiling at her, she couldn't help but blush. After a few hours the room was perfectly painted and primed, her work load had been cut in half.

"You guys are so amazing, I don't know how to thank you." The three of them had walked outside into the night, Jackson right by her side.

"Say you'll come to my party Friday night?" Danny asked in a giddy voice.

Niki tilted her head to the side "Well, how can I say no?"

Danny clapped in excitement, unlike Jackson who was staring right at the moon, Niki looked up as well to see it was full and bright orange.

She was completely mesmerized and in awe, it looked angry, yet beautiful. Startled, she almost jumped when she felt a hand slide in hers. Looking down she saw it was Jackson's hand , a soft anxious smile appeared on his face. She was completely confused, she had just met him, what the hell was he thinking? Yet she couldn't bring herself to move her hand.

After they said their goodbyes Niki leaned against her front door with the biggest grin on her face, she was feeling mushy and sappy inside.

"I guess Beacon Hills isn't too bad." She told herself with a big grin. She had made her way up the stairs when she heard the front door open. Walter was at the hospital, he wouldn't be home until morning.

She ran to her room and grabbed a roller, immediately she hid behind her door when she heard footsteps coming upstairs.

"You are a black belt in Karate, you got this." She reminded herself as she closed her eyes and gripped the roller like a baseball bat. The foot steps were coming closer and closer. Quickly without hesitation she jumped out with a warrior call like scream and smacked the person across the face with a wet roller.

"What the hell!? What was that for?"

Niki opened her eyes to see Jackson on the floor with wet green paint across his face. She couldn't help but to double over in laughter, leaving Jackson completely confused.

"You really find this funny?" his voice laced with annoyance. She fell to the floor in laughter as she nodded a yes, to which Jackson started laughing at as well.

"You look like the green guy on a can of peas." She said between giggles as she wiped his face with her sleeve.

"I came here to tell you how great you are, not get assaulted with a roller."

Niki's eyes lit up as she nervously bit her bottom lip, her sleeve still on his face. He gently grabbed her hand as he sat up "I know I just got to know you, but you're pretty amazing, and beautiful." She had no words to say. No one had called her beautiful before, in fact not that many guys paid attention to her. Within a blink of an eye she found her lips pressed against his, she didn't know what came over her.

Maybe it was the fact that she was grieving and extremely vulnerable, maybe she just needed another warm body next to hers. He kissed her deeply as he pulled her down to the floor, his soft lips against hers.

Whatever the reason, it was good enough to give Beacon Hills a chance.

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**Thank you for reading! Also a big thank you to Artificial-Paradises for the help :]**


	2. First day

**Hello there! Thank you to those of you who have left me reviews and followed my story. It's scary doing a re-write, but i'm already pleased with how this is going :]**

**I couldn't think of a song for this chapter, so if you have suggestions I would love to hear them!**

**Also I haven't touched the original story, so you're more than welcome to go back and compare chapters! Just don't read ahead and spoil the story for yourself!**

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2 months later…

It was a beautiful sunny Monday morning, and Nikita's first day of school. She told herself she wasn't nervous at all, but her body was betraying her with her morning breakfast swishing around in the pit of her stomach. In all honesty she was so nervous that her grip on her bike handles went white to the bone, she could double over and throw up her fruit loops.

It was the common fear of not fitting in, but being Jackson's girlfriend had its perks. He had taken her to several parties throughout the summer, shown her off to his lacrosse friends; and introduced her to Lydia Martin.

Lydia Martin was the type of popular girl you saw in a 90's teen drama. A modern red headed Kelly Kapowski… With an only child syndrome, designer hand bags for every day of the week, and the tendency to put "bottom feeders" down. Bottom feeders of course were those who were at the bottom of the social pyramid, the comic book enthusiasts, the "band geeks", and freshman. According to Lydia, Nikita was at the top of the pyramid; for three reasons only: Jackson's girlfriend, pretty face, and the fact she's fresh meat.

Niki pedaled harder through the familiar path in the preserve; quickly she passed a hiking trail with the words Suicide Hill spray painted over it.

She swore for a second she heard the laughter of two little girls, just like when she and Cora would play in the woods. In no time she had arrived to Beacon Hills High. Hopping off her bike she straightened the hem of her blue and white striped halter dress. Lydia's outfit of choice, a nautical dress and fire red heels, the dress was adorable, but Niki's style was a little rougher. Niki added a red cardigan and swapped her heels for red high tops instead. With a finger she pushed up her red heart shaped sunglasses and popped her red glossy lips, she was ready to tackle her first day. As she took her first step towards the institution her foot was tugged back, one of her shoe laces was stuck in the chain set of her bike.

"Good job Niki, first day of school and already you're making a fool of yourself." She grunted to herself as she tried to yank her lace free. A blush crept on her cheeks as she felt the gaze of students passing by…Or maybe it was in her head.

She was taken by surprise when a pair of hands helped her yank the shoe lace out. She looked up to see a boy she hadn't seen before, he had dark hair and dark eyes, a crooked jaw, and a friendly smile on his face "I heard you uh, punishing yourself. It happens to me all the time." Niki got up and dusted her knee as she looked at the friendly stranger; it was still taking her time to get adjusted to the kind people of Beacon Hills. So friendly that sometimes she imagined the people of Beacon Hills were abducted by aliens, body snatchers, and they would eventually land the rest of their people in a mother ship.

His head tilted to the side as he examined her face, Niki stood stiff as a soldier, she hated people staring at her.

"Do I know you?"

Before she could answer a car door opened, bumping into him. Out stepped her boyfriend, wearing his Armani sunglasses and Tom Ford t-shirt. Niki's poor posture straightened as she pulled her hair out of the messy bun and let it drape around her, just the way he likes it. Jackson walked past the strange boy he almost toppled over, towards his gorgeous girlfriend.

"Hello Beautiful." He greeted her as he planted a kiss on her lips, she could feel his lips curve upwards on hers. Beautiful, she hated it when people used that word to describe her. Jackson would use it often, but to her they were hallow meaningless words.

"You should have let me driven you." His voice was stern as his arm wrapped around her slender waist, pulling her in close. "Drive me? But look how beautiful it is outside!" her arms were spread wide.

"You really are something, Niki Grace." He said with a laugh as their fingers laced together.

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Stiles' POV

He waited at the bottom of the steps as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. Just last night he and Scott went out searching for a dead body. As his eyes scanned across the parking lot it landed on a girl next to the bike racks, his best friend talking to her . A smile appeared on his face "You're talking to girls now, Scott?" he asked himself, just then Jackson bumped into Scott. Stiles couldn't help to snort in laughter as he watched his friend fail. Scott came sulking up to him, an annoyed expression painted across his face.

"Dude what happened to you last night?" Stiles asked as he clapped his buddy's shoulder.

"I got bit is what happened." Scott lifted the bottom of his shirt to reveal a bloodied bandage. Stiles eyes widened in wonderment as he leaned in close to examine the bite "Sweet."

With a roll of his eyes Scott pulled his shirt back down "I'm so glad you find pleasure in my pain."

Stiles slapped the bandage causing Scott to groan in pain. "Hey, that's what best friends are for! What the hell bit you?"

Scott's face was red from the pain; he inhaled sharply from his nostrils "I think…I think it was a wolf."

Stiles face went from smiling to not amused in a matter of seconds "A wolf Scott? There haven't been werewolves in California for at least sixty years."

"I found the body." Scott cut in before Stiles could start a rant.

"You-You found it!?" Stiles flung his arms in the air with excitement "What did it loo-" His voice immediately trailed off as he caught sight of Lydia in the corner of his eye. Lydia Martin, the girl of his dreams ever since the third grade. Her strawberry blonde hair flowed behind her, like a model on a cat walk.

Behind her was Jackson, holding hands with the girl who was talking to Scott earlier. Stiles rubbed at his eyes, she was beautiful up close, she had to be if she was dating Jackson Whittemore. Her warm chestnut hair fell past her shoulders and bounced ever so slightly. Her strong dark brows framed her friendly olive green eyes. Stiles found himself smiling as he eyed her infectious smile, a shy dimple resting on her right cheek.

"Scott, who is that?" He had never seen her before, and Beacon Hills was a tiny town.

Scott's brows furrowed as he examined the girl as well "I thought she looked familiar, she's just another Lydia in the making."

Stiles' body jolted at the words "Another Lydia? Another?" Lydia turned around and scanned the parking lot once more, her eyes fell on Stiles. He gave her a friendly smile a small wave, she reciprocated with a look of disgust, similar to one who walked into a Porto potty at a music festival. "I just want to take a nap on those soft pink lips." His voice light as a cloud.

Scott cut into his dream like state "Dude, that's kind of creepy."

"She's so pretty." Stiles said in a hazy voice as he licked his bottom lip.

"I know Stiles, you tell me all the time." Scott's voice laced with annoyance.

Once again his eyes landed on mystery girl, she had to be a brat if she was hanging out with Jackson and Lydia, probably an uptight upper class snob. His eyes traveled down her body, pleased by her appearances. But what pleased him the most were her red high tops.

"I figured it out!" Stiles jumped at the sound of Scott's voice.

Stiles scratched the back of his head "She looks so familiar."

"Dude, I know who it is." Scott interrupted.

"It's like we've met before." Stiles was still in his train of thought.

"Stiles."

"She's sort of pretty, actually really pretty; all the pretty people herd together."

"Stiles!" Scott snapped.

"What!?" Stiles shouted back.

"We went to elementary school with her, she was best friends with Cora Hale remember?"

Stiles turned to look at his best friend "Nikita Grace?"

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Niki's POV

Niki kept her head down as she walked down the hall, it was littered with gossipy teenagers…each one staring down at her. Jackson held her hand with confidence, she wished she had that confidence and drive that he possessed.

"Isn't that Nikita Grace? Wasn't she close to the Hale family? so tragic." People tried to whisper, but they weren't silent enough "Is Jackson dating her because he feels bad for her?"

Her eyes shot to a group of gossiping girls, the hatred behind her eyes wasn't enough to send them scurrying away. "This is where I leave you." Jackson said with a sigh, a slight smile tugging at his lips. Sadly the two of them didn't have a single class together. With a squeeze of her hand he left her alone with Lydia…who looked far from amused.

"I knew you were going to wear…Those _things_." Lydia looked down at Niki's feet in disdain as Niki shuffled uncomfortably in her red high tops.

"Oh c'mon Lydia, I can't ride a bike and wear heels." Niki slumped against a locker already exhausted as Lydia pulled out her textbooks. "Bike? A bike? Who rides a bike these days?" Lydia nodded to her right to a group of scrawny freshman guys circling around what Niki assumed to be a Nudie magazine "_They_ ride bikes." Lydia pointed out as she fixed her lip gloss in the mirror. Niki couldn't help but to roll her eyes at Lydia's ignorance, once again she heard whispers and giggles. She looked up to see the group of girls across the hall, all four of them were looking at her "can they be any more obvious?" she thought to herself.

She looked to the side to see Lydia was still preoccupied with her makeup, and her ear was pressed against her cell phone while she was ranting about the importance of gel nail polish. The coast was clear; Niki stuck her middle finger to the girls while mouthing the words 'Fuck off." The girls were the only ones who seemed to catch sight of it as their snickering stopped.

"That wasn't very nice."

Niki jumped at the voice, a boy was opening his locker to the right of Lydia. She clenched her jaw as she studied him: tall, lean, black hair, bright blue eyes, and an all knowing smile on his face. To say he wasn't attractive would be a lie.

Niki retorted back "Who said I'm a nice girl?" this got him to raise his brows as he peeled off his leather jacket. "I guess you can't really be a nice girl if you're hanging out with Queen Bee here." He cocked his head towards Lydia who was still ranting about her poor manicure job.

First period hadn't even started and already people had made their judgments about her. She could have told him to fuck off like the other girls, she could have defended herself. All she could do was bite her bottom lip like some deer caught in the headlights.

He let out a small laugh as he saw how perplexed she was "I'm only giving you a hard time, new girl."

"I would like to say I appreciate the hazing, but you and I both know that would be a lie." Her eyes lit up as she oozed out sarcasm.

He didn't seem to mind her sarcasm; in fact he was amused with her firecracker attitude. "Doctor Grace's daughter?"His fingers ran through his dark hair as his deep blue eyes twinkled with amusement. Niki tilted her head as she examined him, how did he know? Her red coated lips parted slightly to ask, but he already had an answer.

"His office is littered with your pictures…My dad works with your dad at the hospital. I see you got your two front teeth back." He let out a chuckle as he tapped his two front teeth.

Her eyes widened as she recalled her second grade school picture when she was missing her two front teeth. Niki racked her brain as she tried to figure out who the mystery boy is; just when she thought she had it he made his leave.

"See ya around new girl, and don't pay attention to the haters." He gave her a flirtatious wink and turned on his heels.

"How typical." Niki muttered to herself "Mysterious boy in leather jacket, who does he think he is…James Dean?"

Lydia slammed the locker shut "Are you talking to yourself?" Before Niki could answer the strawberry blonde handed her a pair of nude heels.

"Good thing we're both size seven." The heels were shoved into Niki's hands; she let out a groan of annoyance.

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Derek's POV

He stood in front of the burnt exoskeleton of his house. There was nothing for him in this town except for the darkest of memories and vengeance. Derek shut his grey eyes, hoping when he opened them his house would be what it once was. To no avail it was still a pile of ash, he could taste it, the bitterness saturated on the tip of his tongue. Derek looked down to his hands, tan skin speckled in dirt, the soil caked underneath his nails. The same soil his sister Laura now laid buried under, he was standing above her this very moment.

"Why am I the last one left?" Derek asked himself with a scratchy voice, the lump in his throat grew as he thought of his family. There was no one, absolutely no one; other than Peter.

The soft sound of leaves crunching caught his attention, within seconds the hairs on the back of his neck were on ends as his claws extended.

"No need for that, Derek."

He turned around to see Walter Grace with his arms crossed a soft smile on his face. He looked very much the same as Derek remembered. Thick head of brown hair slicked back, friendly olive green eyes that soothed any worries, and a charming smile with a hidden single dimple on the right cheek.

The older man wrapped his arms around Derek in embrace and squeezed tight "I'm so sorry about Laura."

The Beta swallowed the lump in his throat, unsure what to say. They broke the embrace as Derek looked at the patch of uneven dirt where he buried his sister.

"When did you get back?"

"A few days ago." Derek answered in a gruff voice.

"Are you in danger?"

Derek shook his head as his fingers played with the zipper of his leather jacket "I don't know, but I will find whoever did this."

Walter's blue eyes gazed over at the house where he spent many of his teenage years, the house his best friend raised a family in. "Niki is back."

Derek's head perked up, his face still hard as stone. Part of him was happy that Niki was back, she was the only thing that reminded him of Cora.

"Derek, you know you have a place in my heart, you are not alone." Derek closed his eyes as he relished in the words, Walter was the closest thing he had to family now . Walter drew in a sigh as he stuffed his hands in his pockets "But…We need to keep a distance, this death will attract hunters." And just like that the tender feeling was gone. "And Niki cannot know, about any of this werewolf business."

Walter's sole duty as a father was protecting Niki, and that means keeping her far from the supernatural. But now she was back in a den of supernatural chaos, and he would do anything to keep her away from the truth.

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**Not that much happened in the chapter, still setting up those darn dominoes :] Next chapter Niki will meet everyone and find herself back at the Hale house ;] stay tuned and let me know what you think of the chapter.**


	3. Back to the Hale house

**Wow! you guys are so amazing for all the positive reactions! I am so lucky to have the best readers. Here's another chapter, with lots more happening, and some Stiles and Niki :]**

**Also I have deleted ALL of the original Nikita Grace stories, all three seasons *YIKES* so that means I really need to commit, and I don't have the comfort of past reviews anymore! So scary yet so fun.**

**Wish you were here - Thom Yorke, Sparkle Horse.**

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Walking in Lydia's heels was near impossible; sadly Niki was actually a half size smaller than Lydia. She must have looked like Bambi on ice in cramped heels. She had found her way to the school courtyard, there a dark haired stranger awaited. Niki sat next to the girl "Hi, I'm Allison Argent." She kindly extended her hand and shook it "I'm Nikita Grace, new as well?" The new girl shook her head as she flashed a wide smile, Niki noticed she had dimples on both of her cheeks, a trait she wished she had.

"well you should sit with me during lunch." Niki's thumb ran over the rough edges of her sketchbook as she looked at Allison. "That would be great!" Allison squealed in delight. Her eyes widened when she saw Niki's necklace "Wow, that is a really pretty necklace…What does NGCH stand for?"

Niki drew in a sigh, she was going to spare this lovely girl from a heart breaking tale. "The initials of my best friend and I; she had a matching one just like this."

Allison's eyebrow cocked up "Had?" Just then Allison's phone went off, she excused herself politely.

Nikita looked down at her nails, the blue polish was chipped all around, making it look like little islands. If Lydia saw her nails she would throw a fit, Jackson would find it amusing. A smile spread on Niki's lips as she thought of her boyfriend's reaction. Allison returned with the Vice Principal in tow "Ladies, ready for your first class?" the two girls followed right behind him.

"They're all going to be staring at us, aren't they?" Allison whispered under her breath.

"Oh…You have no idea."

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Stiles' POV

Stiles drummed his fingers impatiently waiting for his first class to start. He looked out the door hoping to see Lydia Martin walk in, just to be in the same classroom as her made him giddy.

He caught sight of his best friend looking out the window with a gormless expression on his face. Stiles leaned back in his seat to look out the window, Scott was checking out another new girl. His thoughts soon turned back to Lydia Martin, he wondered if her pink lips tasted like bubblegum. His eyes widened as she entered the class room, confidently strutting down his row. Quickly he removed his feet from the seat in front of him and sat up straight.

"H-hey Lydia." Stiles was taken by surprise as she kept walking down the aisle, closer and closer to him. This was it, today would be the day Lydia Martin would finally sit next to him. Instead she put a purse down on the seat in front of him, sitting two seats in front of him instead. He sulked in his seat as Scott almost shot out of his.

Nikita and the other new girl walked into the classroom, both introduced themselves shyly. The one named Allison found a seat in front of Scott, as Niki sat in the spot Lydia had reserved for her. The teacher excused himself to take an emergency call.

Stiles let out a grunt, Niki's head was in the way, he shifted around in his seat to try to get a good view of Lydia, with no luck he let out an annoyed sigh . Niki turned around with an arched eyebrow "I'm sorry, am I bothering you right now?"

"No." Stiles muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Lydia had turned around as well "Niki, why are you talking to _him_?" Niki smiled completely ignoring Lydia, a single dimple appearing on her cheek "You look pretty familiar."

"You're talking to Steve, now let's talk about your party on Friday." Lydia snapped in an annoyed voice. But Niki was still eyeing him "Seth, right?"

Stiles rolled his eyes once more with a fake smile "Try again."

"Keep rolling your eyes, you might find a brain back there." She said with a playful wink.

Stiles felt the heat of embarrassment rise to his cheeks as Scott let out a burst of laughter. He had never met anyone as quick witted as him, it was safe to say he had met his match.

Niki cocked her head towards Scott "See? He thought it was funny."

Stiles leaned in closer with a smirk on his face "Dangle a piece of string in front of him and he would still find it funny." Stiles retorted.

Scott let out a grunt "Not cool man." His attention turned to Allison "You need a pen…Right?" Allison bit her lip playfully as she thanked him.

Niki tilted her head towards Scott once more "You should take notes from your best pal here, he knows what he's doing." Scott couldn't help but blush as Allison pulled back a strand of hair behind her ear, like she was silently agreeing with Niki. Stiles hardly knew the girl, but he found her to be incredibly irritating.

"You're not my type." Stiles said coolly.

"You're right, I'm not your type, I'm not an inflatable blow up doll." Niki turned around with a huge grin on her face as classmates around them snickered, including Lydia. "New girl 2, Stiles 0." Scott whispered.

Niki looked back over her shoulder "Anyways, I'm kidding. I know who you are; Stiles."

He was taken aback, the new popular girl actually knew of his existence? This was his shoe in with Lydia "Yeah? W-well I know who you are!" Stiles stumbled over his words clumsily, already failing at a clean delivery "Yeah, you're freakin Nikita Grace!" He watched as her body stiffened up, he leaned back in his seat as a smug grin found its way to his face.

The grin fell when Jonesy entered the room, Jonesy and his dashing good looks. Stiles had no reason to hate Jonesy, to hate on him would be like hating on a kitten. They had never spoken before, just friendly abrupt exchanges of words. He was labeled as the rebel, always in his worn out leather jacket and his stupid high tops. And of course he was the captain of the wrestling team, head designer of the yearbook, and lead guitarist of some stupid band. Girls loved him, guys like Stiles couldn't stand him.

As the rebel walked to his seat he locked eyes with Niki, both of them unable to break their gaze. A sly smile tugged at his lips, Niki quickly looked down in embarrassment.

"Dude, are you okay?" Scott asked his best friend. Stiles was too aggravated to notice his trembling grip on his pencil.

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Niki's POV

"So…What's his name?" Niki asked Danny while she put away her textbooks in her locker. Allison cocked an eyebrow as she looked to her right "He's in our English class, right?"

Rebel boy was casually walking down the hallways with a mahogany vintage Les Paul electric guitar.

Danny poked his head between the two girls "That ladies, that right there is Jonesy _Clark Kent_ Jones."

Niki let out a scoff "Who names their child Jonesy?" She found him to be attractive, but he looked like tons of wannabe musicians back in Los Angeles. Some reason she found him to be alluring, intriguing, an anomaly waiting to be figured out. Or simply it was the fact that he knew more about her than she did of him.

Danny bit his bottom lip seductively "I'm jonesing for some Jonesy." Allison almost doubled over in a fit of giggles as Niki let out a snort of laughter. Just then Jonesy turned around with a hitched eyebrow, the three of them freaked out and turned around, pretending they were busy.

"He totally heard us." Allison whispered through giggles "This is where I leave the two of you!" Danny whispered back "See you at the scrimmage?"

Niki nodded as she hugged her friend goodbye.

Like a shy school girl Allison hugged her books against her chest "Scrimmage? Is your school into football?"

Allison and Niki joined Lydia at the top of the bleachers "What took you so long?" The strawberry blonde didn't even notice Allison's presence. Niki practically hung her head in shame, arguing with Lydia was like arguing with a wall. Niki's heart rate picked up as Jackson ran out to the field, he took off his helmet for a moment, only to smile at her. "Who is that?" Allison asked coyly, Niki opened her mouth to answer, but Lydia beat her to it 'That is Jackson Whittemore, only the best Lacrosse player this school has seen in years." Knives were thrown out from Niki's death glare, but Lydia sat straight and proud as she eyed Jackson like a hawk "He's my boyfriend." Niki informed Allison.

The doe eyed brunette extended her neck to get a better view of the field "And what's that guy's name?" Allison asked as jersey number eleven ran on the field. Both Lydia and Niki turned to look at her, Allison gulped as she shrunk her posture "You like him?" both girls asked in unison. "He's-he's cute." She answered meekly. Lydia let out a scoff as she flipped her hair with her hand, Niki on the other hand couldn't help but to smile.

"Niki you shouldn't ride through the preserves." Lydia warned. Niki's brows furrowed, the preserves was her playground "And why not?"

Lydia stuck her nose in the air "Well for one it's trespassing, plus everyone knows it's haunted."

Niki let out a sigh as she buried her head in her hands as Lydia continued on "They sometimes say that if you listen closely, you can hear the youngest Hale girl crying in the preserves."

"Hale girl?" Allison asked with wide eyes swirling with curiosity.

Niki drowned them out while Lydia explained the Hale fire.

All was fine during the game; Jackson was on fire making every single goal. Niki cheered on proudly, but it seemed as though Lydia was always a little louder. Niki looked down at her watch; there was some place she needed to be. She said her goodbyes to the girls and walked down the bleachers in time to see her boyfriend get knocked off his feet by Scott. Number twenty four was on the edge of the seat as he watched Scott prowl on the field. Jackson ripped off his helmet and threw it down to the floor as the coach called for a break. With a clenched jaw he approached Niki, fuming to no end. Gently she cupped his face with her hands, finding whatever words it took to calm him down "Jackson, you were great out there!" with her widest smile she tried her best to boost his damaged ego. Carefully he peeled her hands off "You weren't loud enough." With that he walked off, Niki's hands fell to her side. A snickering was heard behind her, she turned around to see the Stilinski kid from earlier, completely amused with the situation.

"Whatever." She muttered as she stormed off the field.

* * *

"They sometimes say that if you listen closely, you can hear the youngest Hale girl crying in the preserves." Lydia's voice echoed in her ears. Niki's jaw clenched even tighter as she pedaled harder, her silver necklace clinking against the handle bars. Once again she passed suicide hill and took a right, she was deep in the preserves now. Most people feared the dense woods, but Niki knew the place like the back of her hand; even after all these years. In her bike basket laid ten vivid sunflowers, she had to pay her respects.

After parking her beach cruiser against a tree she decided to walk the rest of the way, for fear her bike tires may give out. After a few minutes she had reached her destination, the Hale house.

She stood waiting a few feet from the front porch, she had told herself countless times not to visit that dark corner in her mind that held the memories of that uneventful day. She couldn't help it, the smell of smoke loomed heavily in the air, pieces of ember danced around her feet as she slipped back into her memories.

"_I think I can! I think I can!" Niki whispered to herself as she rode her bike uphill. She had won the lead role in her school's fourth grade adaptation of The Little Engine That Could, and was rushing over to Cora to tell her the news. Sadly Cora wasn't feeling well that day and decided to stay home, Niki eagerly volunteered to bring her homework. With the silver heart placed between her lips Niki pedaled deeper into the preserves. The two of them were inseparable, practically attached at the hips. Their fathers were best friends since high school._

_She came to a halt when she spotted thick looming smoke hanging overhead. In an instant the bike fell to the ground as she bolted into a run. Her feet pounded heavily into the ground, causing the dead leaves around her feet to scatter. Dark brown hair whipped behind her as tears rolled off the side of her cheeks, the closer she got, the more real her nightmare became. The preserve was dead silent except for the sound of her frantic breathing. She had reached the home, but it was burnt to a crisp. Herds of onlookers, reporters, firemen and cops surrounded the home. They had finished putting out the fire, but the home still smoked and sizzled as if it were alive. The yellow caution tape blocked off all access to the house, but Niki needed to find Cora, she needed to know if she was okay._

_She broke into a run and ducked right under the yellow tape. The inside of the home was charred beyond recognition, it was like stepping in a stranger's home. The dinner table where they gathered for thanksgiving was completely demolished, the kitchen where their mothers would make sangria was devoured by flames. _

"_Cora!" Niki shouted from the bottom of the stairs, some part of her hoped Cora would descend down the stairs completely unscathed._

_The ash and soot created a thick cloud around the room, making it hard to see or speak."Cora!" she shouted once more, accidently inhaling the flakes of ash. Her eyes began to burn as tears streamed down her face, her lungs felt ablaze "Cora" Her throat was too scratchy and raw to shout, and her head was feeling as light as a balloon. Suddenly two hands grabbed at her and lifted her off the floor; she was being pulled out of the house. "CORA!" she screamed one last time as she was being dragged out._

_The stranger held her as her chin rested on their shoulder; any shred of energy she had left was gone. She looked to her right to see Laura crying, Derek was to her side. His face was as hard as a rock, all the world's anger and hatred looming behind his grey eyes. Niki outstretched her hand, hoping Derek would take it. But he did no such thing as he was approached by a boy close to his own age. The boy made eye contact with Niki, his shocking blue eyes sending shivers down her spine._

_The stranger sat her on the bed of a paramedic truck; he had friendly blue eyes and neatly combed sandy hair. With his sleeve he wiped the soot off of her cheek, his small sympathetic smile showed that he was trying, but had no clue what to say. Kindly he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, Niki clung to the brown jacket tight, the only comfort she was provided. The badge he wore had the name Stilinski etched into it "You're a strong one." He told her right before he left._

Her grip on the sunflowers was so tight she almost broke the stems. A twig snapped far behind her, making Niki jump out of her daze "Is anybody out there?"

No answer.

She looked up at the house to see the curtain move aside, surely her eyes were playing tricks on her. Niki quickly rubbed her eyes to see the curtains were absolutely still, she was seeing things she wanted to believe. Her feet carried her into the house mindlessly, like she had no control. Once again she had met the bottom of the stairs, just like she had six years ago. Ever so carefully she placed the bouquet of sunflowers on the bottom step. They were always Talia's favorites, and they contrasted against the blackness so beautifully, haunting…but beautiful.

She looked up the stairs at empty space "Cora?" Her voice echoed in the shell of a home.

"Cora…I'm sorry it has taken me all these years to come back." Her thumb ran across her necklace "If you could see me now…I'm such a mess." Niki found it difficult to speak whilst choking on her words "My mother is gone….Drunk driver, hit and run on the freeway."

The darkness and silence wrapped around her like a cloak, she was talking to no one…Or so she thought.

Derek had hid behind the banister as he listened to every word carefully. He wanted to go down there and comfort her, but Walter specifically instructed that keeping a distance was important.

"You would disapprove of the person I am today, dating the captain of the lacrosse team, befriending a cookie cutter queen bee, you know the people we used to make fun of." The corner of her lips tugged into a sympathetic smile as she began walking away.

Derek emerged from the shadows as he watched her walk out of the house, his heart broke for her. But he had to make sure she never found out the truth.

One more errand had to be taken care of before Niki could pass out from sheer exhaustion. She walked down the halls of Beacon Hills Hospital, but she wasn't here to visit her father.

After a short elevator ride down she had found herself in the burn unit and rehabilitation floor. A brunette nurse stood behind the desk, her smile made her look goofy and over excited.

"Uhm hello, I was wondering if I could see Peter Hale…"

The nurse's eyes widened for a moment " He never gets visitors."

Niki's nails tapped on top of the counter impatiently "Well...I'm here now."

The nurse led her down the hall and into a dimly lit dusty room, immediately Niki's temper flared "what is this!? Why are you keeping him in the dark?" The nurse looked stunned at Niki's sudden outrage. The teenager ripped the curtains aside and let the sunlight pour in. Peter sat motionless in his seat, his eyes completely glazed over and lifeless.

The nurse stood by the door, wringing her fingers nervously "You know if you talk to them, it usually-"

"Why are you still here?" Niki cut the nurse off and dismissed her.

"I'm sorry they have you in this hell hold." She snorted in disbelief as she propped the window open. Hiss head was cocked to the side in the most uncomfortable looking position. She gently rolled his head to the middle, only for it to fall to the side again. "I guess I should have brought you a book or something, I know how much you love Animal Farm."

Peter had no reaction; the only sound coming out of him was his raspy breathing. Niki could hardly look at him, his face covered in smooth burn marks. She did the only thing she could think of to break the silence, talk about herself.

"So uh, I got a black belt in karate, first female in my dojo. And I finished first in the L.A half marathon…"

She was trying, trying really hard to break the awkwardness, but she hadn't seen Peter in six years, and the guilt was eating away at her. After an hour she decided he had heard enough of her blabbering on.

Niki crouched down so she was eye level with him, her soft hand laid on top of his burnt hand "Bye Peter, I'll be back."

As she walked out of the door Peter's fingers started twitching, a slight smile tugged at his lips.

**Yay for cliff hangers! In case you didn't know anything in Italics is a flashback! Leave me some love and please let me know what you think.**


	4. My own person

**Huge thanks to Nessie, Bri, and Miss E Charlotte who looked over this chapter.**

**BIG BIG BIG thank you two my readers and reviewers: Bri, Vcarp1993, Royboy20, Emma, Kolowolfik, ZOMBIEASSASINNINJA , Charcchar, Sixx.A.M, and Artificial- Paradises. All of you are amazing and talented beyond belief! your support means so much to me, and i'm glad i've chatted with all of you! So thank you thank you! check each other's stories out because you are all mighty creative!**

**There is no song for this chapter, I couldn't think of a perfect fit, if you have suggestions for a song, or even the story please let me know :]**

* * *

Brody Jones pulled off his blood soaked gloves, the crimson sullied his powder blue scrubs. The patient was strewn across the operating table, pale and lifeless. Yet Walter was still trying his best to revive him, Brody knew they wouldn't have such luck. That Walter, always trying his best even when the outcome looked impossible. Another animal attack, another innocent victim.

The two of them only had fifteen minutes to eat lunch. Thankfully they always enjoyed each other's company, they had to; they were work partners after all. Brody Jones speared a piece of steak with his fork and waved it in Walter's face. Walter Grace kindly declined with the wave of his hand, immediately Brody's eyebrow hitched up "You cut out red meat from your diet? What woman are you trying to impress?"

Walter threw his head back in laughter while picking at his salad "Do you not believe me when I say it's for my own health?"

Brody ran his fingers through his thick dark hair "Not even for a second, my friend."

Just then the door opened, Melissa McCall entered the break room with a friendly greeting. She grabbed a water bottle and joined Walter's side.

She joined in the conversation "So Brody, how are Olivia and the kids doing?" Brody politely dabbed the corner of his lips with a napkin as he sulked in his seat, completely full and satisfied "Olivia is great actually, she's going to be opening up her own bakery in a few months."

Melissa's eyes widened with excitement and the thoughts of being able to purchase sweet confectionaries.

"Jonesy is doing great as well; he's now captain of the wrestling team, and he's enjoying his band."

A blanket of silence fell between the three of them, Walter cleared his throat to break the question people wanted to know "And…How's Alex?" The oldest Jones son was often talked about, but no one had seen him in six years.

Brody let out an exasperated sigh "Alex is…Alex..He doesn't like Beacon Hills very much, he was always a city boy…But we keep in touch." Just then Brody's pager went off "Would you look at that? Another animal attack, imagine my lack of surprise." Groggily he got up and left, leaving Melissa with Walter.

She looked into his once radiant eyes; instead it was dull and full of sorrow. His handsome smile was rarely seen these days. She understood his ex-wife had died a few months back, and he had to adjust with his daughter. Playfully she nudged his shoulder "And how are you holding up Walt?"

"I'm holding up, trying my best…But she hates me."

Melissa had never met Nikita, but Walter always talked about her proudly, and his office was littered with pictures of his baby girl.

"She doesn't hate you Walt." His head hung low, focused on the floor "She's a teenage girl who is still dealing with her mother's death, she had to uproot her life and move back here, and she has to live alone in a large house. You just need to give her time, and more importantly just be there for her."

Without noticing her hand had rested on top of Walt's hand , but he noticed right away as his smile grew wider.

* * *

Niki's POV

Her seat was jittering like a small earthquake; Niki was trying her best to ignore it. But the shaking was constant and irritating, she couldn't draw a single line in her sketchbook without it becoming jagged. It was that Stilinski kid, he had placed his feet at the bottom of her seat and was nervously fidgeting around.

She turned around to give him a dirty look, he was looking into dead space as he continued to shake her seat and drum his fingers on the desk. Niki cleared her throat to attract his attention, but he was in his own little world. Finally she waved her hands in front of his face; he jumped causing Niki to jump as well.

His long fingers ran over his buzzed head "Can I help you?"

Niki exhaled out of her nostrils "Yeah, stop crushing Ritalin into dust and snorting it like Pablo Escobar and sit still."

Stiles gripped the edge of his desk and leaned forward, ready to spew out an insult, but alas thought of nothing. Niki's eyebrows scrunched together, sort of let down he didn't have anything witty to say. "Well…that's no fun."

He only shrugged his shoulders as he put on his red hoodie.

Jonesy took his seat in front of the class again; he looked over to Niki "Sup new kid?" She quickly looked over to Allison who had a wide smile on her face "Don't look at me like that Allison, he was talking to you." Allison let out a giggle "No, I'm pretty sure he meant you."

It didn't matter who he was talking to, Niki was with Jackson, she may not have been the best girlfriend…but she certainly was loyal and took pride in that.

Mr. Stonem their English teacher stepped to the center of the class room "Students, today you will be assigned a partner for a group project."

Immediately everyone let out a groan of frustration, Niki chewed on the inside of her cheek as the teacher announced the pairings one by one. "Please let it be Allison, please." She whispered to herself.

"Grace and Stilinski." The teacher announced. Niki turned around to face Stiles, both of them visibly upset. Niki formed her hand in the shape of a gun and pressed it against her temple, Stiles even slammed his forehead down on the desk in protest.

Other than the unfortunate assigned partner the day seemed to be going well. Although, Niki noticed Jackson acting a little standoff-ish ;she knew he found Scott McCall to be a threat as far as lacrosse goes. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her in close as they sat at the lunch bench. Allison was in the middle of her story about how Scott saved a dog she almost ran over, but Niki was distracted by the feather light kisses Jackson was planting on her neck.

Lydia was looking at the couple in disgust as she filed down her nails "Okay so you almost killed a dog and he wrapped its leg? Big whoop." All enthusiasm had been sucked out of the strawberry brunette, for a second Niki wondered if that was all Lydia sucked.

Jackson let out a snort of laughter "Who pissed in your cheerios this morning, Lydia?" If looks could kill Lydia Martin would be a murderer as she shot daggers at Jackson.

Allison ran her fingers through her dark ringlets in frustration "Look, I just want to know if I can bring him to your party Friday?" She shot Niki puppy dog eyes.

"No!" Both Lydia and Jackson shouted in unison.

Niki arched her eyebrow as she pushed her lunch tray away "Pretty sure she was asking me."

Lydia slammed down her nail file "You really want to commit social suicide?" "You can't invite him, he's a dweeb." Jackson seethed.

This only caused the brunette to smile kindly towards Allison "I'll take my chances, everyone is invited."

Lydia let out a scoff as Jackson stormed off.

* * *

Stiles' POV

Scott and Stiles sat alone at the lunch table while Scott observed his inhaler. It was yesterday the boys ventured out into the preserves to find the stupid piece of plastic. There Scott had found a familiar red beach cruiser parked next to a tree. Moments after Nikita ran out of the woods on the verge of tears, the boys hid behind a tree as she hopped on her bike and disappeared in the dense thicket.

Neither of them understood what had happened, until Derek Hale came out a few minutes later and barked at them for trespassing.

"Don't you think it's a little weird that both Derek Hale and Nikita Grace arrived in Beacon Hills around the same time?"

But Scott was all too busy swooning over Allison across the cafeteria "Yeah, whatever." Stiles' eyes traveled to the table as well just when Jackson was storming away from Nikita. For a second he felt bad for her, why would a girl like that go for a guy like him?

"You like her." Scott said bluntly, not even questioning Stiles. Stiles shot his best friend an incredulous look, completely caught off guard 'Wh-what? No! I like Lydia."

But Scott didn't believe him as he wagged his eyebrows up and down "I see the way you look at her."

Stiles couldn't help but to flip out a little bit."And I see how you look at the nasty lunch lady with the hairy mole, it doesn't mean I like her." both boys turned to look at Gina the lunch lady, she instantly winked at the two of them, making them feel mighty uncomfortable.

After a few minutes Niki got up to look for Jackson, Stiles didn't know what came over him, but he found himself following her down the hall.

Her warm hazelnut hair swung side to side, he could smell her jasmine perfume wafting into the air. Stiles found himself admiring her every curve and the softness in her body. Something about her reminded him of an innocent deer, maybe it was the delicate manner in which she walked; her feet hardly making a sound against the ground.

Unfortunately for Stiles he was the opposite of delicate and graceful, the dark haired beauty turned around to meet him face to face.

Most girls would be legitimately creeped out, but Nikita found it to be amusing "You following me Stilinski?"

"Wh-what? No, I-" It was like his tongue was made of cement as he tried to find an excuse while she wore a smart ass grin on her face "Were you just checking out my ass then?"

The blunt manner in which she asked caused him to go slack jaw "Yes." He blurted out, part of it was true, he couldn't help but to admire her posterior "Wait no! I-I'm here to make peace."

Stiles gulped hard as she walked closer to him "Peace?"

Nervously wringing his hands he took in a deep breath "Yes, I think we got off on the wrong foot, I'm sure you're a great person deep deep down inside."

To his surprise she let out a soft giggle, actually enjoying his humor "Alright, I'll take that as a sort of apology, it's water under the bridge." Her dimple appearing.

Stiles couldn't help but to smile as well, in fact he couldn't help but to smile any time she smiled "Thanks Lydia, I can't wait to work on the project with you."

His eyes widened as he realized what he had said, but once you speak words you can't take them back; he had accidently called her Lydia. With furrowed brows she turned on her heels and stormed down the hall "I can't believe you." Niki whispered under her breath.

"I'm sorry!" Stiles shouted down the hall.

But she gave him the finger "I'm my own person you know!" she shouted one last time behind her shoulder. Stiles bit down on his fist in anger, he had royally screwed up.

* * *

Niki's POV

"That jerk." Niki thought to herself as she splashed cold water onto her face, waking up every sense in her numb body. She couldn't figure out why she let Stiles get under her skin, but he had hit a soft nerve. It wasn't the fact he called her Lydia, it was the fact he had made his mind up about her before even getting to know her.

"Why do you even care what he thinks of you?" she muttered under her breath, her soft voice echoing in the empty bathroom. To be honest she had other things to worry about, like Jackson and his sudden hissy fits.

The door to the bathroom opened "Yes, Cora Hale, the house fire, remember?" Niki's head perked up, within a second she hid in a bathroom stall. Like a stealthy cat she hopped up on top of the toilet, six inch heels threatening to slip off the porcelain. With two hands pressed against the bathroom stall she held herself in an awkward position as she listened in on the conversation.

"Not as creepy as Suicide Hill though."

Niki instantly realized the voice belonged to Lydia; she must have been talking to Allison.

"Suicide Hill?"

Silently she peered through the crack of the door hinge to see Lydia fixing her makeup while Allison stood by her side.

Lydia let out a sigh "Yes Suicide Hill, it's where people take their lives and test their fate."

"Sounds like a horror movie."

Lydia popped her freshly glossed lips "Yeah well, most people die, the unlucky ones get stuck in a wheel chair."

Allison let out a sigh "This town and their urban legends. A hill of nightmares, and the Hale house." Lydia ran her fingers through her hair, giving it some volume " Derek Hale is back in town."

The bomb dropped on Niki, shattering her mind to pieces. Her breath caught in her throat as a million questions went through her mind…The first wondering why she didn't know he was back in town.

"I think you should tell Niki." Allison's voice laced with concern, just then Allison spotted Niki in the reflection of the mirror.

The strawberry blonde let out a mocking laugh "Tell Niki? People think she's a tragic story already, she doesn't need a bad reputation." Allison didn't respond as she hung her head down, feeling ashamed.

"Lacrosse practice is about to start! Let's go!" The sound of Lydia's cheery voice was irritating Niki to no end. She wondered how cheery her voice would sound if Niki threw her beloved Chanel clutch in a blender.

"Actually I have to use the bathroom, I'll catch up with you in a bit." After Lydia's heels clicked out of the bathroom Allison pulled the stall door open. Any second longer and Niki's legs would have given out, she collapsed out and clutched Allison's arms for balance.

"I'm so sorry, Niki." Allison gently rubbed her back in comfort. But Niki quickly stood up straight "It's fine, really."Niki was a professional at hiding her feelings and holding back tears.

She walked to the mirror and teased her hair with her fingers, as if nothing had happened. "Are you sure you're okay?" Allison was trying her best to comfort her friend.

A fake smile found its way to Niki's face "We're late lacrosse practice, let's go before Jackson notices I'm not there."

Moments later they were on the field watching practice, Jackson was great but Scott was on fire. Niki turned around to see Lydia sitting alone, motioning for the girls to join her. But sitting next to Lydia was the last thing Niki wanted right now. Her eyes landed on Stiles who gave her a sympathetic wave from the bottom of the bleachers, he mouthed the words "Sorry."

Her attention was ripped away from the lanky boy when she heard gasps and clapping, Niki turned around in time to see Scott land his flip over Jackson. Allison's mouth hung open in surprise "That was…wow!"

But Niki's attention was elsewhere, across the field stood a man. He wore a leather jacket and dark denim jeans, his midnight hair framed his alabaster skin. He looked beyond angry, until his grey eyes landed on Nikita. Her pulse picked up, he should have been intimidating, but she wasn't scared. Then it hit her like a brick, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing right, but he was gone as soon as her eyes opened.

"Derek?"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, quick recap! Momma McCall makin some moves on Walt ;] You got to meet another member of the Jones family (Jonesy's dad) Niki and Stiles are paired up, and Niki sees Derek for a brief second! :-O**

**Next chapter: The Party chapter, a good amount of Niki and Stiles (Stiki?) and Derek makes another brief appearance :]**


	5. The red hoodie

**Okay I can officially say I have the best readers ever, all of you are so supportive and kind, thank you so much!**

**If you haven't done so, please check these stories out:**

**Miss Hale - Sixx.A.M**

**Holding out for Tomorrow - Artificial - Paradises**

**She Wolf - Vcarp1993**

**Blue Eyes of an Innocent Killer - ZOMBIEASSASINNINJA**

**Wicked Games - xXbriannaXx**

**Darkness Will Come - KoloWolfik**

**Support your fellow writers and spread the love :]**

* * *

**Song: Shooting Stars - Bag Raiders (hope you like this one!)**

Nothing was more awkward than sitting across from your estranged father at a dinner table with no food. But not for Niki and her father. Walter was casually reading the newspaper as Niki played candy crush on her phone. This was their way of bonding, Niki thanked Walter for not rushing their budding relationship. She didn't want him to pretend he had been there for her all along, or for him to pretend they were best friends. This was comfortable for them, the silence and the distractions.

Finally Walter broke the silence "I don't want you to go in the preserves, there have been too many animal attacks lately."

Niki looked up from her phone for a second "Okay." It was simple as that, Niki gave him her word; back to silence."Maybe I should stay ton-" Walter's pager went off, but he ignored it "We could grab some take out." The pager was still going off like crazy, he was needed at the hospital.

"Walter, people need you more than I need you." Niki's voice was slightly cold as she put her phone down "Plus, I'm throwing a party tonight."

Walter opened his mouth to protest, but he was taken by surprise by her honesty "A party? Is there going to be-"

"Boys? Alcohol? Weed? Probably." Niki was so nonchalant Walter almost didn't know how to act 'Don't worry mom's talked to me about all of those, you don't need to give me a talk."

Walter let out a sigh as he dodged that bullet, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill "Here's money for beer, don't do something you'll regret, also this place better be sparkling clean." He grabbed his keys and ran out the door in a flash. Just then the door rang, Lydia was waiting on the other side, dressed three hours early.

Her smile fell when she saw Niki's "hideous" outfit, made up of an old band shirt and boxers. "I don't know what homeless man's wardrobe you went through, but this isn't working." Niki let out a sigh as they both climbed up the stairs and into her room.

After an hour Niki was dressed in a black and white floral print bralet, denim waist high jeans, killer red high heels, and a big red bow clip on the back of her head. Lydia studied her outfit up and down "red lip stick? Really?"

Niki sat in front of her vanity mirror as Lydia warmed up the curling iron "Lydia, if the lipstick goes, then the heels go…and you know how much I hate heels." It was true, Niki looked like a child every time she tried to walk in heels. She understood they made her legs look longer and slimmer, but she would rather not suffer in these torture devices clearly made by men.

Lydia let out a gasp as if Niki had lit her dog Prada on fire "Fine fine!" Gently Lydia ran her brush through Niki's hair, like she was brushing a doll.

Niki caught Lydia's gaze in the reflection "How are you and Jackson?" her best friend asked her. She couldn't help but to shrug her shoulders "It's been a little rocky, ever since Scott has gained all the attention. But I'm really getting tired of these mood swings he's been having."

"Mood swings? If I were you I would be comforting him every second, showing him my support every way possible." Niki was surprised to hear such bitterness in Lydia's voice. Her bold eyebrows stitched together "Well you're not his girlfriend, and he needs to grow up."

Lydia was almost done curling Niki's hair, she kept silent.

"Why didn't you tell me Derek was back?"

The strawberry blonde's mouth dropped open "How did you-" Niki turned around to make eye contact with her "Never mind how I know, how could you not tell me?"

Lydia sat on the edge of the bed as her ankles crossed "Niki, believe it or not I'm trying to protect you." The sincerity in her voice was unexpected, Lydia was telling the truth. Before Niki could say anything else the doorbell rang.

A sly smile spread across Lydia's bubblegum pink lips "Let's go introduce Beacon Hills High to Nikita Grace!"

* * *

Niki was blown away by the sheer multitude of people in her backyard, she was always used to being alone in the house. Lydia stood proudly with her hands on her hips relishing in the glory of her popularity. An older guy clearly in college was undressing her with his eyes, Lydia slowly made her way over to him. Niki walked down the steps and immersed herself into the crowd, Greenberg had offered to DJ the party, everybody was moving and dancing. She was taken by surprise when Jackson snuck up on her and planted a kiss on her cheek "Here, I thought you would need this." Clumsily he shoved a red solo cup into her hand, she drank it without question, distorting her face as the bitterness hit her tongue.

"Jackson, what is this? It's so strong!" He shrugged his shoulder as his lips met the rim of his beer bottle "Vodka, soda water, and a squeeze of lime…You know so you don't have to worry about carbs." Niki inwardly rolled her eyes, she didn't care for meaningless things like counting carbs. He gently grabbed her hand and lead her to the dance floor, they danced close to one another, the heat rising off their bodies. He was the epitome of a perfect boyfriend that night, making sure her cup was full at all times. Niki's hand wrapped around the back of his neck as she pulled him close, she looked behind him to see Allison and Scott arriving hand in hand. Niki couldn't help but to smile, she could tell Scott made her friend happy. To her surprise Stiles came in stumbling after them, looking like a fish out of water sporting a red hoodie.

Niki was on her fourth cup of the strong concoction when Jackson dismissed himself to use the bathroom, leaving a drunk Niki by herself. Like a newborn deer on ice she trekked across the backyard to find Danny and Jonesy standing next to a keg. She couldn't help but to notice how handsome Jonesy looked in his white dress shirt and denim jeans. His messy dark hair contrasted with his bright blue eyes, he even grew a little scruff on his face.

"Hello men-folk." Niki slurred as she faked a polite curtsy. She looked to Jonesy who seemed out of his element "I'm surprised your even here Clark ke- Jonesy." Danny's mouth dropped as Niki used the nickname he gave Jonesy. The mysterious teenager looked to Danny "So that's where that nickname comes from?"

Danny's cheeks turned a rosy shade, Niki covered her mouth to hide her drunken stupor. But Jonesy quickly changed the topic " Yeah, I should be out practicing with my band, but I couldn't skip out on Nikita Grace's epic party!" He outstretched his arm to show the vast amount of people surrounding them.

"Niki, why is your cup empty?" Danny asked as he wrapped an arm around her neck. She looked down at her cup with a pout "Where did it go?" Her voice sounding slightly sad.

"Want me to get you a drink?" Jonesy offered ever so kindly, Niki placed her palm on his shoulder to stop him from going to the drink table. "No no, I want that." She pointed to the keg with a wide smile. Danny cocked his head to the side "Okay? I'll pour you some beer."

Niki looked side to side, checking to see if the coast was clear of Lydia or her boyfriend, but neither were to be seen. Her attention returned to the keg once more "That's not what I mean Danny." Jonesy and Danny exchanged the most up to no good glance.

Next thing Niki knew both Jonesy and Danny had a grip on her ankles as she was held upside down on the keg, she was doing a keg stand. Herds of people gathered around her as they counted how many seconds she had been drinking, everyone chanting her name. Finally after twenty seconds she had enough, the crowd erupted in cheers, Jonesy even clapped her shoulder "Color me impressed Nikita!"

* * *

Nikita was pretty plastered as she trailed off, looking for her boyfriend and best friend "Anyone see Jackson or Lydia?" Her words were slurred and hardly audible, she peered into the kitchen to see a couple making out on the counter and a group of people playing flip cup. Niki thought she had heard her name outside, she decided to go to the backyard again. Standing at the top of the cobblestone steps she decided what her chances were of not falling. She was drunk and wearing six inch red heels, her chances were pretty slim, but she decided to do so anyways. Surprisingly she didn't fall, until she got to the last step.

Luckily she was caught by a stranger, Niki's head rested on the strangers chest comfortably, she already felt like falling asleep. The brunette looked up to see Stiles smiling down at her, he was the one who caught her. "Hey Niki, I'm really sorry about calling you Lydia the other day, I feel pretty bad."

She wasn't in the mood for him to be a buzz kill "Shh, it's alright Stilinski." She must have smelled of beer because his smile dropped instantly as a look of concern painted itself across his face.

"You alright there, Drunky?"

Still with her body pressed against his she smiled at him "I'm greeeaaat, Sobery." Her nose scrunched at her terrible comeback. 'That was pretty bad Niki, I have to say I'm a little disappointed." His voice laced with sarcasm. Her fingers gripped his red jacket as she took in his scent, it instantly relaxed her. "Yeah well, being a smartass all the time is really hard work, you would know yourself." For once Niki got him to laugh, maybe it was her dry humor, maybe it was the fact she looked like a trashed red lipstick wearing koala clinging tightly to him.

Stiles' eyebrows arched "Where are you off to?" Niki let go of him, but he had a firm grip on her making sure she didn't tip over like a cow. Her olive eyes scanned the backyard and instantly landed on the pool. It looked magnificent, Niki had taken the time to change the pool lights to black lights, and dumped buckets of white ping pong balls in the water. Stiles quickly caught onto her gaze and made an O shape with his mouth "That looks like a bad idea."

"Not to toot my own horn but I'm a three time LAUSD swim champion." A cocky grin spread across her lips.

"pretty sure you tooted the horn." His eyes widened like two saucers when her fingers unexpectedly laced with his. She dragged him to the pool, Stiles rubbed the back of his neck nervously "You sure you want to do this?"

Niki looked at him with half lidded eyes and a goofy smile "Mmmhmm" His jaw hit the floor when she kicked off her shoes and peeled off her shirt, revealing a plain black bra. "Hold this, stud muffin." She handed him her shirt as she dove headfirst into the pool.

***She sat at the bottom of the pool for a moment to observe the beautiful clusters of glowing ping pong balls floating above her. It looked majestic from down below as the orbs of light bobbed up and down. For a moment all the music and chattering muted leaving her in a tranquil state and rummaging through her thoughts. Lydia and Jackson were nowhere to be seen, but for some reason that wasn't bothering her. Stiles' face was hovering above the water, keeping an eye on her protectively. Maybe tonight was the night Stiles would drop his judgments about her…Why did she care again? What was it like to be loved by Stiles Stilinski, the way he loved Lydia Martin? Just the way he looks at her…WHY DID SHE CARE AGAIN?

Niki kicked off the bottom of the pool and broke the surface, Stiles let out a sigh of relief. Playfully she kept half her face under water as she swam closer to him "Wanna take a dip Stiles?"

His friendly brown eyes locked with hers " I'm more of a land person." She grabbed his hand and pretended to pull him in, but he was much stronger than she thought "Wow Stiles, have you been working out?" Her compliment caused his cheeks to go rosy as he stumbled on his words "I-Lacrosse" was all he managed to say.

Someone standing next to the fire pits caught her attention, her mouth slightly hung open. There he was with his raven black hair, hands stuffed in his pockets, staring daggers at Scott McCall. Her eyes must have been deceiving her…It couldn't have been him. Stiles being sharp as a tack caught on quick, he turned around but saw nothing "Niki, are you alright?" Without hesitation he pulled her out of the pool, his muscles slightly flexing as he eased her out. Niki slipped her shirt back on as her eyes scanned the crowd, he was gone. Her eyes landed on Scott who was doubling over, wincing in pain. Quickly she tugged on Stiles' hand "Your friend!" in a matter of a second his face went pale "Stay here Niki, I'll be right back!" She watched him push his way through the crowd, quickly she realized his red hoodie was gone.

Her attention turned ,she caught a man wearing a leather jacket enter her house. Nikita pushed her way through the crowd, everything felt like it was in slow motion as her head began swimming….She needed to find a bathroom fast. Once Niki was inside she gripped the walls for balance as she made her way through the hall, but of course she was met with a line to the bathroom. The idea of her going up the stairs sounded too great of a challenge at the moment.

Niki let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and leaned against the cold wall, it offered a small amount of relief to her over heated body.

"Drink this." A cup of water was handed to her.

They were finally face to face, a hint of concern behind his grey eyes.

"I've been taught not to take drinks from strangers." Her single dimple appeared.

"I think you and I are far from being strangers." Finally the corner of his lips tugged upwards, only for a second. He had changed from the teenager she remembered from her childhood. His body was more rugged and built, his once friendly eyes seemed cold and calculating, his soft jaw line sharpened and peppered with scruff. But she knew who he was from the moment she saw him, her suspicions confirmed as he grabbed her necklace and studied the initials.

She raised her cup to a toast "Welcome home, Derek Hale, welcome back to hell." The cup met her lips as she drank the water, instantly feeling better. Her attention was ripped away from him when she saw Scott run out the front door. Niki looked back to see Derek was gone, who knew if he was even there in the first place.

Niki started bobbing her head as her favorite song Shooting Star by Bag Raiders started playing, Just then Stiles ran up to her with a worried expression .

The red cup slipped out of her hands as she was too excited to contain herself "Stiles! Let's dance! This is my favorite song."

"That sounds amazing! But have you seen Scott?"

Niki was too busy drunkingly running the palm of her hand over his buzzed hair, the soft bristles tickling at her hands; oddly enough Stiles didn't seem to mind as he was too busy panicking.

"Mmm…He left." Niki's voice cheery as ever.

Stiles' eyes went so wide she swore she saw her own reflection smiling like an idiot in his warm brown eyes.

"I-I need to go!" He ran out the front door. Niki was puzzled, did she just get rejected by Stiles over something as innocent as a dance? Niki tried to blow a strand of her hair away, but it was still soaked and plastered to her face.

She jumped and let out a yelp as Stiles jumped in front of her "I can't believe I'm doing this! You are so hot! I'm sorry!" he bolted out of the house again. Niki couldn't help but to smile as she walked to the backyard, it had been such an odd night, and she probably wouldn't remember half of it come tomorrow.

There were shouts of excitement coming from the pool, Niki stepped outside in time to see Jackson winning a swim race against some of his lacrosse buddies. Niki heard Lydia call her name, she was sitting on a lounge chair. Niki joined her best friend and laid her head on Lydia's lap. The moon had never looked brighter, and the stars had never shone so vibrantly. Lydia tugged at Niki's sleeves, Niki didn't even know she had sleeves. Her eyebrows stitched together as she looked at the bright red hoodie she was wearing, it wasn't hers. "What are you wearing?" Lydia asked with slight disgust.

Niki shrugged her shoulders as she pulled the collar of the hoodie up to her nose and inhaled the comforting scent.

**Hope you liked the chapter, I had so much fun writing it, especially the ending :] Leave me some love and suggestions. Also not to confuse readers but this is not a Stiles/OC/Derek story.**

**Oh before I forget! Check out my profile for all the actors/face claims, my polyvore account which has all things Nikita Grace, and my tumblr where i'll be posting teasers and possible art :]**


	6. teaser

**Hey guys, so I am so so thankful for all the love and reviews. Not only are you guys sweet and talented writers, but you're all smart and observant readers :] I'm leaving a small teaser of the next chapter. This is completely UN EDITED, like I haven't even started writing it. This is more of a train of thought than a teaser really, enjoy.**

Stiles flipped the grilled cheese on the stove top as Niki sat on the counter next to him, her legs swinging like a child. "I don't think I would ever leave Beacon Hills." Niki snorted in laughter "I can't wait for the day I return to L.A."

His eyebrows pinched together, a certain sadness filled him at the thought of her leaving "But you have people here." he inhaled as he began his conquest of convincing Niki to stay "You have Jackson."

A smile formed on her face as she thought of her boyfriend "True." Stiles cringed as he heard those words.

"You have Lydia, your father, you have...Me." He instantly regretted saying that, what the hell was he thinking? She was with Jackson, High school rock star wealthy model looking Jackson. He had to distract her quickly, he grabbed the grilled cheese off the stove with a paper towel and handed it to her.

Niki gladly accepted, but the cheese oozed out of the sides and landed right on her knee. She hissed in pain, Stiles was quick to wipe it off with a towel "I'm so sorry, Niki." She cringed in pain as she tried to force a smile "It's alright, it just burns."

The next thing she knew his lips were inches from her bare knee, he was lightly blowing on it to help with the pain. Niki froze as she watched him, her lips parted slightly. She closed her eyes for a moment as the pain was slightly less now, there was something so tender about the way he was taking care of her. She looked at him again, for a second she wanted his lips to touch her knees. The thought of it sent goosebumps to the surface of her skin, he noticed right away.

His warm brown eyes locked with hers, his thumb gently ran over the side of her knee "Niki, I-"

Just then the doorbell rang, and Niki let out a sigh of relief.

**What do you guys think? suggestions? :]**


	7. Engraved Flower

**Once again thank you to all of my readers and your support, yes even the silent ones :] I am so thankful for those of you who have left me reviews, even more thankful that I got to know all of you. I've been going through some tough times and today was an especially tough day; but your PM's and reviews were enough to keep me moving, so from the bottom of my heart thank you ^_^ I hope to not only gain new readers, but new friends as well.**

**-I took the time to pick these songs so they fit just right, If you give them a listen let me know what you think; don't forget the chapters are inspired by the songs. The chapter has two songs so that means you'll be seeing (****) in two different places**

* * *

**Lemonade - Coco Rosie**

**The Moon Song - Karen O and Ezra Koenig ( The song can be found on my tumblr, and I know you'll fall in love with it)**

* * *

"So you see, Lydia is incredibly intelligent."

Niki and Peter sat side by side facing the window, there was a small garden of flowers right outside to keep them visually pleased. "It was a few days ago when I found her book collection, she reads everything from Octavio Paz, Nietzsche, and Michael Moore." Niki shook her head "I don't get it, why pretend you're someone you're not?"

Peter sat motionless as he stared into dead space.

Niki shrugged her shoulders as she thought about her outfit, a floral pink dress, hot pink heels, and the same bubblegum lipstick Lydia usually wears. She instantly ignored the irony of her statement.

***A blanket of silence fell between the two of them, even with Peter's ragged breathing she was comfortable with the silence; until the light bulb above them began buzzing.

"So I enrolled in cross country." She leaned closer to Peter's ear "Don't tell anyone, but I can outrun those bitches." There was once a time where her brazen attitude would have Peter in stitches, but those days were gone ever since the Hale Fire. For a second it looked as though Peter was about to smile, but he remained still as calm water.

The breeze blew past the window, her heart sank wondering if Peter could feel the simple sensation on his skin. Just then the sprinklers went off outside, Niki narrowed her eyes as they were transfixed on the tiny crystals of water. Her grip on the arms of the chair turned white as she slipped into the memories she so desperately tried to bury.

_The soft wet earth squished between her toes as sprinkles of water fell from the sky. Her and Cora ran around, their screaming giggles were endless and infectious. It was a hot summer day in Beacon Hills and the girls were trying to cool off with the help of Derek who was assigned to baby sit them. He sat dully on the porch steps with a hose in his hand, he wanted to be anywhere but here. _

_The two girls decided to jump in mud puddles next, sullying their matching yellow sun dresses._

_Derek rolled his eyes "Cut it out you two, mom's going to kill me." But they were in their own little mud filled world. Cora bent over and pulled out an earth worm from the ground , it wriggled in her grips as Niki burst into another fit of giggles. Derek's eyes widened, his sister was a little daredevil, she would certainly eat the worm to show off._

_Just then Peter walked out to the front porch sporting sunglasses and a cup of lemonade for himself. He surveyed the scene outside, highly un amused. "I'm going out tonight, you get to watch the munchkins, have fun with that." _

_Derek's head whipped to the side, his eyes burning holes into Peter "I'm going out with my basketball team tonight."_

_Peter's lips curled in the most devious manner "I could tell your mother that you let your little sister eat a worm." Derek clenched his jaw in annoyance "that would be a lie." He turned to make sure Cora didn't consume the worm, it was still wriggling in her palm._

_Peter took a sip of his lemonade and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve_ "_Cora!" her head perked up as Peter called her name "What's that you got there?" Proudly she held the worm between her thumb and index finger, showing it off to her uncle._

_Derek practically jumped up, the hose in his hand "Peter! Don't!"_

"_Tell you what Cora, I'll take you and Nikita for ice cream tomorrow if you eat the worm." Cora's brown eyes lit up as her and Niki exchanged excited glances. The little girl tilted her head back as she slowly lowered the worm in her mouth, Niki was making fake gagging noises._

"_Alright, Alright!" Derek surrendered._

_Peter pushed his sunglasses up with his index finger "Cora!" he got her attention, she looked at him with puckered lips as the worm hung out like a piece of dancing spaghetti "Get that thing out of your mouth, I'll still take you two for ice cream tomorrow." She spat the worm out with a giggling laughter._

_Derek was fuming as he looked to his uncle._

_The older werewolf let out a mocking laugh as he got up "never underestimate the innocent looking ones." Derek rolled his eyes "I think I can outsmart my seven year old sister." _

"_Who said anything about your sister?" An all knowing smile grew on Peter's face._

_Just then Niki pressed her foot down on the hose causing the water to stop, Derek's eyebrows cinched together as he studied the nozzle._

_Peter took a swig of his lemonade "I was talking about my partner in crime." Niki lifted her foot, releasing a sudden rush of water in Derek's face. The younger Beta grunted in anger and threw the hose to the ground, he turned to give Peter a death glare. Peter was amused, it wasn't often he found something funny enough to laugh at, but this was well worth it. Peter's eyes locked onto Niki's as her smile matched his "I told you she's a smart one." _

* * *

Stiles' POV

It was a gloomy Sunday morning, and Stiles was laying in bed trying to rid of his headache. He groaned trying to process the events that took place over the last two days. He had somehow come to terms that his best friend was a werewolf, one who could not contain his beast like temper. Not only has Scott's life been changed forever, so has Stiles; and now he has to carry around a burden that is Scott's secret. Stiles remembered Friday night, he remembered hearing his best friend turn. He remembered looking like a blubbering idiot in front of Allison; asking if she was okay. The fact that the psychotic killer Derek Hale was after his best friend made Stiles groan, Derek warned Scott not to play in the upcoming lacrosse game, something about Scott tearing people to shreds, it didn't sound all that important. He scratched his head, there was something about hunters too, someone trying to kill werewolves…Or whatever.

Stiles rolled onto his belly, closed his eyes and smiled. He let out a sigh as he replayed the image of Niki resting her head on his chest after she tripped; he remembered how her light brown hair smelled of jasmine. How playful she looked in the pool, splashing around not having a care in the world if she ruined her hair and makeup.

"She asked me to dance with her" Stiles thought to himself, "me"

Granted she was drunk, and she probably forgot about it, that was his first and only chance. Stiles swam under his blanket and immersed himself in complete darkness. "she asked me to swim with her, and she asked me to dance with her, I am such an ass" "how did I turn down such a beautiful girl?"

It was obvious, Stiles was crushing on her. It came out of nowhere, one day they were throwing insults at each other, the next he couldn't help but to smile every time he thought of her. It was her boldness that drew him to her, not just her pretty face.

His phone was directly under his head as it went off with a buzz, Stiles rolled out of bed and his face met the carpeted floor "Damnit." His voice muffled by the floor. Stiles' hand danced on the top of his bed until he grabbed his phone. WORK ON PROJECT WITH NIKI DAY , it was his calendar reminder. He shot off the floor with a big smile on his face, this meant he could see her again. Quickly he ran to the bathroom as he checked himself out in the mirror, with nothing but a pair of socks on and his red boxers the anxious teenager started flexing "Who's that sexy beast staring back at me?" he asked his reflection.

Niki did ask him if he had been working out, it had clearly boosted his ego.

The foam dripped out of the corner of his mouth as he brushed his teeth, was she going to remember the night of her party? How would he even greet her?

Stiles pointed to his reflection "Sup, Nikster." The whole cool sauve thing wasn't working.

"Salutations, Niki." His face scrunched as it sounded too nerdy.

"Howdy-do, Niki." That just sounded like an old man.

"Guten tag mein fraulin!" Was she even German?

A sweet smile formed on his face as he buttoned up his red plaid shirt and ran down stairs, two steps at a time.

He was almost at the door when "Stiles, don't forget about the citywide issued curfew." His father's voice came from the kitchen.

"Yeah yeah." His hand touched the doorknob.

"Where are you off to?" his father asked.

Stiles let out a sigh as he dramatically hung his head and faced his father "I'm going to study with Nikita Grace." He said her whole name, knowing his father wouldn't know who he was talking about.

"What a sweet girl she is."

Stiles' eyes narrowed as he poked his head in the kitchen, his father was casually sipping on coffee and reading the paper.

"And how do you know her, Dad?"

His dad's eyes never left the paper as a smile formed on his face "Her and I go way back."

* * *

It took him only fifteen minutes to get to her house, He ran up to the heavy double doors and rang the doorbell…No answer. A mild amount of panic took over Stiles, they were supposed to study together, he was supposed to see her again. Stiles took a few steps back in her driveway to peer through what he assumed was her open window. With his tongue sticking out the corner of his lips he was determined to climb it. When he reached her window he noticed no one was inside, Stiles' feet dangled in the air as he tried hoisting himself up and through the open window.

Niki's head popped out the window he was trying to climb through "You're late." Her voice dull and unenthusiastic. Stiles' face was going red from trying to pull himself up, Niki sat at her desk as she blew on her freshly painted nails and enjoyed the sight.

"Y-You think you could maybe help me?"

Niki tilted her head to the side, still blowing on her nails "It looks like you got it, champ."

Stiles grunted as he pulled his body all the way through the window, he fell to the floor heaving, practically curling himself to a ball.

The end of Niki's hot pink heels poked at him "get up, we have work to do!" The laughter in her voice shot a bolt of energy through Stiles as he jumped to his feet.

Two hours later and the two of them were only a few pages into their research, but Stiles didn't mind a single bit. The fidgety teenager was busy looking at her room, it wasn't what he would have imagined. Since Niki was best friends with Lydia he expected pink lace curtains and paintings of flowers, and glass figurines of ponies. But her room was painted a mint green, an L.A poster hung above her bed, which was next to her record player and record collection. His eyes landed on her closet, he could see she had a collection of boots and converse, and very few high heels. He scratched the back of his head wondering why she bothered wearing heels in the first place, clearly she preferred her boots.

Just then her phone went off, her bubblegum colored lips almost touched the speaker as she started giggling "No, You're adorable Jackson…Jackson!" The bitter taste of jealously loomed on the tip of his tongue, Stiles got up off the floor and mouthed the words "bathroom.'

The cold splash of water woke his dull senses, why did he think he had a shot with Niki again? Was it because she actually recognized his existence? Was it because she actually laughed at his jokes? He wasn't even in the same caliber as her, she was something else…She was special. He held his gaze with the mirror, what was his big elaborate plan? Remind her of how much fun they had the night she was wasted?

Stiles walked out of the bathroom and down the hall. It pained Stiles to see there were no photos on the walls of the hallway, no sign of a happy tight knit family. The house was so big and empty, he was certain if he were to shout it would echo.

His attention turned to the guest bedroom, something drew him inside. It was completely empty, except for a large cabinet covered with a white sheet, and what he assumed was a painting covered by another sheet. It was like he had no control as his mind went numb, before he knew it the sheets had pooled around his feet. The magnificent glass cabinet stood tall, almost touching the ceiling. Inside were dozens and dozens of medals, awards, ribbons, and trophies…All with Nikita's name etched onto them. She was a champion in so many athletics and hobbies, Stiles couldn't keep count. Either she was completely indecisive, or incredibly talented; he couldn't tell. Most of her trophies were from dance, Cross Country, and Martial arts. Stiles swallowed hard, she could kick his ass if she wanted to.

His brown eyes landed on the painting next to the cabinet, it was an unfinished portrait of a blonde woman with a white orchid tucked in her hair. The woman's olive eyes looked so familiar, there was something childlike and innocent about them.

"What are you doing , Stiles?" Niki stood by the door, she looked visibly upset, the same olive eyes from the painting were staring right at him.

Stiles was like a deer caught in headlights "I'm-I'm sorry, I just-"

"Please, let's just finish our research." A certain hint of sadness resonated in her voice when she saw the painting, it finally hit Stiles like a brick.

The two of them walked back to her room cloaked in silence. Stiles tried to bury his nose in a book and mind his own business. But in true Stiles manner he was curious about everything "So, why so many trophies?" Stiles was ready for her to tell him off, tell him to mind his own business.

"They may look like accomplishments to you, but every single trophy in there is a distraction."

Stiles raised an eyebrow in confusion, partly because he didn't understand and partly because he was surprised at how open she is "Distraction?"

Niki sat on the floor across from him as she drew in a breath "A distraction from real life."

"A distraction from the Hale fire and the death of your mother." Stiles couldn't believe the words that left his mouth, he watched as the words penetrated her. She looked away from him and out the window, he had read her like an open book. "It was a drunk driver, she was here one day then gone the next." She began to nervously play with her necklace, wrapping it around her finger "The worst part…I can't even visit her grave, it's eight hours away."

"She was beautiful." Stiles whispered, referring to the painting.

Niki bit down on her bottom lip trying to fight any tears "Thanks." She was able to force a smile.

Stiles scooted closer to her "M-mother is dead as well."

Niki looked back at him, almost unsure of what to say "I'm so sorry Stiles." But there was little sadness behind his eyes, it was evident his mother passed away years ago.

His fingers gently tapped her forehead "frontotemporal dementia" Niki cringed.

"What was your mother like, Stiles?" Niki knew it was a long shot, but maybe she could change the dreary mood in the room.

A smile spread on his face as he thought back to his fondest memories "Well, she was pretty sarcastic." Niki let out a laugh, as did Stiles "I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He nodded his head "She was amazing at cooking." Stiles closed his eyes and leaned his head against the desk "Thanksgiving was the best, there was always turkey, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, roast beef, and pumpkin pie." Stiles could almost taste the savory turkey, until his thoughts were interrupted by Niki's grumbling stomach.

****They both burst out in laughter as Niki's cheeks turned a rosy red "Don't judge me Stilinski, I haven't eaten all day!'

He threw his hands up in protest "Alright alright, do you have any toast?" she nodded her head eagerly "What about cheese?" Niki rubbed her hands together "I see where this is going."

The two raced down the stairs in laughter, Niki opened the fridge and threw the bread at Stiles, who caught it easily "You're pretty darn athletic yourself, Stiles." He could feel the flush on his cheeks, hopefully one day she would get to see him play lacrosse. She hopped on the counter while Stiles pulled down a pan from the overhead hanger. "Alright grasshopper, listen good and listen close."

Niki scooted closer to the stove as she listened to Stiles "They key to making good grilled cheese? Take it low, and take it slow." Niki let out an infectious laugh "Got it Stiles, low and slow." She scrunched her face "That sounds awfully dirty." Stiles gave her a playful wink.

Stiles flipped the grilled cheese on the stove top as Niki sat on the counter next to him, her legs swinging like a child. "I don't think I would ever leave Beacon Hills." Stiles sighed.

Niki snorted in laughter "I can't wait for the day I return to L.A."

His eyebrows pinched together, a certain sadness filled him at the thought of her leaving "But you have people here." he inhaled as he began his conquest of convincing Niki to stay "You have Jackson."

A smile formed on her face as she thought of her boyfriend "True." Stiles cringed as he heard those words.

"You have Lydia, your father, you have...Me." He instantly regretted saying that, what the hell was he thinking? She was with Jackson, High school rock star, wealthy model looking Jackson. He had to distract her quickly, he grabbed the grilled cheese off the stove with a paper towel and handed it to her.

Niki gladly accepted, but the cheese oozed out of the sides and landed right on her knee. She hissed in pain, Stiles was quick to wipe it off with a towel "I'm so sorry, Niki." She cringed in pain as she tried to force a smile "It's alright, it just burns."

The next thing she knew his lips were mere inches from her bare knee, he was lightly blowing on it to help with the pain. Niki froze as she watched him, her lips parted slightly. She closed her eyes for a moment as the pain slowly diminished, there was something so tender about the way he was taking care of her. She looked at him again and for a second she wanted nothing more than for his lips to touch her knee. The thought of it sent goosebumps to the surface of her skin, he noticed right away. Why was she even having these sort of thoughts in the first place?

His warm brown eyes locked with hers, as his thumb gently ran over the side of her knee "Niki, I-"

Just then the doorbell rang, and Niki let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

Niki's POV

"So…I wasn't dreaming after all." Niki whispered at the man standing in front of her.

Derek Hale stood on the other side of the door arms crossed and body tense, his brow raised as Niki stared at him with a blank expression. "Can I come inside?" She didn't even need to answer as he pushed his way past her and into the house "Are you making grilled cheese or something?"

The brunette was still in a state of shock and confusion as Derek walked into the kitchen and spotted Stiles. The lanky boy paled over at the sight of the werewolf, Nikita walked into the kitchen to join the two as they stared daggers at each other. "You guys know each other? Or is there some sexual tension between the two of you that I'm not aware of?"

Neither of them cracked a smile, the tension was so thick Niki swore she was in the middle of a western show down. Finally Stiles broke the silence "I- I need to go." Niki sat on a stool next to the kitchen island as she watched Stiles practically run out the front door, she let out a sigh "That's the second time he's done that."

"How do you know him?" There was no kindness in Derek's voice, the years had clearly made him a tough man.

Niki stood up and crossed her arms in annoyance "A hello would be nice."

Derek's tough exterior cracked as he opened his arms wide, embracing Niki in a tight hug. "You think I scared your boyfriend?" Derek joked referring to Stiles.

Niki slapped his arm playfully 'That's not my boyfriend."

Derek's friendly expression vanished, and the stone cold man returned "I know who your boy friend is, are you sure you want to date that douche bag?"

She only rolled her eyes at this "When did you start getting involved in teenage affairs? Cora would disapprove." Derek cringed at her words, Niki tried to cover her mouth but the damage was done.

"I just came by to see how you were doing, and give you my condolences ; your mother was an amazing woman." Derek turned on his heels to walk out the front door.

"Wait! That's it!?" Niki followed him like a duckling, right on his heels "Is what they say true about Laura?" Derek gritted his teeth as he began walking faster.

Niki's mind was overflooded with questions and curiousity, but no one would give her answers "You know I cared for her, I cared for all of you, why are you all being plucked off one by one?"

Derek finally passed the foyer and reached the door, but Niki was relentless "What are you not telling me?"

He finally turned around and faced her, with a finger pointed at her face "Just stay out of the preserves, got it?"

Niki used her best Derek voice to mock him "After six years all I get is: Just stay out of the preserves." Without further hesitation he walked out of the home and to his car "Just…Stay safe Niki."

* * *

Niki drew in a sigh as she dove onto the couch, ready to watch endless amounts of Netflix. She was dressed in yoga pants and a band shirt, ready to claim the couch as her. Before her head could hit the pillow the doorbell rang. Niki stuffed her face in the pillow and let out a groan in frustration. Maybe if she just laid still they would go away, but Niki remembered her car was parked in the driveway, it was obvious she was home. She swung open the door to see Jonesy standing on the other side with a sweet smile on his face "Hey Niki."

He instantly caught her surprised expression , her mouth slightly opened "how did you-"

Jonesy cut in "How did I know where you live? I've been here with my family a few times." He leaned against the door frame casually as he poked his head inside "So, are you going to let me in? or…"

Niki felt a blush flush her cheeks "Yeah, please come inside."

Her eyebrows nearly touched her hairline as Jonesy walked in with an oblong wooden case. He gently set it on the dinner table "What is that?" He turned to give her a devious smirk before opening the case, inside was a riffle. His fingers gently ran over the dark metal and down to the hilt.

Jonesy noticed her brooding silence right away "Hey, it's alright, it's not loaded…And I would never hurt you." There was something comforting and sincere in his voice, and Niki couldn't stop staring at those ocean blue eyes.

"Niki?" His voice snapped her back to reality "Yeah, totally!" was all she managed to say, like some illiterate fool.

His friendly smile was back "I'm dropping this off for your father, he

and Brody love going hunting when they get the chance."

Niki walked Jonesy out and they said their goodbyes, even making plans to hang out the next day. she turned around still eying the gun on the table, there was something so eerie about a piece of metal powerful enough to end a life.

She was one of peace, not violence, and the idea of her father hurting another animal angered her to no end. But something drew her to the gun, her fingers ran over the polished metal like Jonesy, stopping at the hilt of the gun. She narrowed her eyes as she studied an engraving of a flower embedded on the hilt. Her hand recoiled like the gun was made of lava, she never wanted to be near that thing.

**I know I know, not much happened in this chapter, except for building on relationships. I promise there will be more action and drama from now on.**

**What did you guys think of the second song? did it give you the warm and fuzzies? :]**

**Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Support your fellow writers, and guests I encourage your input as well!**


	8. ch 8 teaser

**Tomorrow is my birthday, and I can post a totally unedited teaser on here if I want to! :[**

"Band emergency." Jonesy sighed as he walked out of the room with his ear pressed against the phone. Niki waited patiently in his room, admiring the collection of band and movie posters. She rolled her eyes when they landed on a stack of playboy magazines "Typical boy." She muttered to herself, suddenly the idea of sitting on his bed where he had intimate "romantic" moments with his hand didn't sound so pleasing. Curiosity got to the better of her as she left Jonesy's room. She walked through the hall smiling as she looked at each family picture. Each one filled with love and happiness, everyone was smiling wide. Niki thought of her empty hall back at home, dismal, barren, not a picture in sight.

She noticed in all the pictures Jonesy was at least three or older, there were no baby pictures of him or his older brother, or who Niki assumed to be his older brother.

She ended up at a door that was slightly ajar, she couldn't help but to open it completely. It was a dark blue room with minimal furniture or belongings. The desolate room had one bed, above it hung posters of stars and constellations. The desk had a desktop computer, a poster of moon phases hung high above it, and a black electric guitar leaning against the leg. Niki's eyes landed on a magnificent shiny telescope, made of chrome with multiple lenses. Right next to it mounted on the wall was a vintage riffle, it hung like an antique, like it had never been shot. Niki found herself walking towards it, like a moth drawn to the flame. She noticed right away it had a flower engraved on the hilt, just like the gun Brody had lent her father. Her hand slowly reached out to touch it, like a forbidden fruit.

"I wouldn't touch that."

Niki jumped and let out a gasp, she had no clue Jonesy was right behind her; he had been so light on his feet.

She was expecting him to be angry or annoyed, but he still wore his friendly smile "I-I'm sorry." She blurted out like some bumbling idiot.

Jonesy shrugged his shoulders "It's fine, _he_ wouldn't like it though."

Niki's eyebrows raised "He? Your brother? He hasn't been home in six years right?" Niki watched as her words wounded Jonesy, he clearly had some delusion his brother would come back to Beacon Hills.

His eyebrows knitted together as his kind blue eyes locked with hers "I mean, he's visited once or twice, we usually visit him."

Niki's attention turned back to the riffle "All of you hunt?" her voice laced with venom.

Jonesy shuffled in his feet awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck "Yes, all of us." He gave her the honest truth, knowing she wouldn't like it.

A look of disgust painted it's way across Niki's face "That's inhumane, it takes some sort of monster to pull that trigger on an animal." The words slipped right out of her mouth, once again her brain to mouth filter was broken.

But Jonesy didn't seem offended by it at all, in fact an amused smile formed on his lips. He took a step towards Niki, his dark hair falling over his eyes. His eyes that were once a friendly blue were starting to look more like a stormy grey "You're right Niki, I'm defiantly not human."

Niki swallowed hard as he walked closer "In fact…"

**Yay for cliff hangers, I gotta keep you guys hooked somehow ^_^**

**I hope to attract new readers and reviewers, please let me know what you think of this teaser; let me know how I can make it better :]**

**Also check out each other's stories, because you guys are amazingly talented.**

**PS: check out my Polyvore for Niki's outfits and chapter descriptions; Also my tumblr which has another teaser up!**


	9. Red Savage Eyes

**Thank you to all of you who are kind enough to leave reviews, check out my polyvore account, my tumblr account, and actually listen to the music I use for the chapters :]**

**I loved re-writing this chapter, much better than the original in my opinion. I really hope you guys enjoy it as well.**

* * *

**Mouthful of Diamonds - Phantogram**

Derek's POV

His vice grip wrapped around the crease of his inner arm, trying his best to suppress the pain and stop the bleeding. Derek had nightmares about when he would see her again, each time vowing to rip her throat out with his teeth. But that promise failed last night as she penetrated him with one of her special bullets. The back of his hand brushed his sweat soaked brows as his eyes narrowed on the school. The only way he could hope to survive was finding a single teenage boy, Scott McCall. Pushing his way past snot nosed teenagers Derek stumbled through the double doors of the school, he opened his mouth to call Scott's name.

Only to be cut off by the sound of the school bell, it rang in his ears like needles scraping along his ear drums. Every student scuffled into their classrooms leaving Derek in the desolate hall. One stranger however remained, Jackson Whittemore.

The jock was busily shoving books in his locker when Derek approached him "Where is Scott McCall?" There was no sweetness in his tone as he was pressed for time. The coldness in his voice didn't seem to faze the young jock as an amused smirk emerged on his face "And why should I help you?"

A wave of nausea hit Derek like a tidal wave, he took a deep breath and tried to steady himself against the locker "Because I asked nicely, and I never ask twice."

The jock's focus went back to his locker; Derek's blood began to boil as he saw a picture of Niki on the inside of his locker door. Jackson let out a snort of laughter "How about you tell me what you're selling him?" Derek cocked his head to the side; this jock was a power hungry moron wasting his time. Derek pushed past him to find Scott, but Jackson was foolish enough to grab his arm "I'm talking to you!"

Derek grabbed Jackson's hand and twisted it behind his back, the side of Jacksons face was pressed against the cold metal of the lockers. Derek had slipped; his anger had seeped out and blinded him, his claws scratched at the back of Jackson's neck. Quickly he withdrew his claws as he realized his mistake; he had left a mark on Jackson.

Derek sped down the hall and rounded a corner when he saw Niki approaching her boyfriend.

She had the brightest smile as she approached her man "Hey, you alright?"

Jackson was still shaken up as he laced his fingers with Niki's "Yeah…Yeah, I'm alright." Derek cringed when Jackson planted a kiss on Niki's lips. He would have loved nothing more than to intervene but for now he had to find Scott and his twig of a sidekick.

* * *

Niki's POV

She had promised both Walter and Derek she would stay out of the preserves, but she never imagined Jonesy living right in the middle of the woods. Her mini cooper sped down the dirt path as a myriad of red and gold leaves flew behind her car. The house was grand and rustic like a cabin type mansion; it looked fancy yet cozy from the outside. Niki stepped out of the car and let the cold air nip at her face, the smell of moss and fresh rain wrapped itself around her; making her feel more alive than ever.

She had promised Jonesy they would hang out, she knew it would make Walter happy as well. At first she had her doubts, Jackson would be upset if he knew she was hanging alone with some guy, it didn't help that the guy was Jonesy. Everyone loved Jonesy, he was the captain of the wrestling team, he was editor in chief of the year book club, he was the lead singer of a band, and labeled as Beacon Hills High sweetheart. But Jackson's mood swings and short tempers had Niki on end; and Jonesy seemed like a cool guy.

The wooden porch steps creaked underneath her high heels as she walked up to the door. Niki tucked in her designer bag under her arm as she nervously bit down on her bubble gum pink lips. Before her knuckles could make contact with the double doors it flew open. Jonesy was on the other side with a wide smile on his face.

"Nikster!" he embraced her in a tight hug, excited to see her, she was taken by surprise at how warm and welcoming he was; he truly lived up to his reputation.

The inside of the house was elegant; clearly a woman had decorated it. Jonesy cocked his head towards the marble stairs "Let's go."

Niki followed right behind him as they entered his room, it was a typical teenage boy's room. Walls covered in band and movie posters, pile of dirty laundry in the corner, pair of boxing gloves by the bed, and a white electric guitar across his desk. Niki's eyes went wide when she saw his impressive record collection; her brain went numb for a moment while her feet carried her to the golden shrine.

Jonesy leaned on the doorframe casually, trying to play cool "You impressed?" She couldn't help but to kneel on the floor and admire each record, taking them out of the sleeves and letting them shine in the light; like black liquid. She couldn't even respond as she looked through the pile, pulling out her favorites one by one.

Jonesy kneeled next to her smiling at the expression painted on her face; Niki was lost in an audio fantasy wonderland. She delicately picked up a black sleeve with little glowing golden orbs painted on it, a record she had never seen before. Jonesy being perceptive as a fox laid the vinyl on the record player and set the needle on the groove.

The opening guitar and distorted melody to the first song instantly won Niki over; she looked to Jonesy with a smile of approval, her one dimple showing as she bobbed her head back and forth. The two of them sat in silence, leaning against Jonsey's bed listening to the euphoric harmonies. She caught him staring at her a few times, but Niki was relaxed, at ease, completely comfortable with him. When the record was done they spent hours talking about their favorite bands, best concert experiences, and general things in life. Talking to Jonesy was easy, they shared many common interests; it felt nice to find a _friend_ who really understood Niki. Jonesy's phone went off as soon as they started talking about school.

***"Band emergency." Jonesy sighed as he walked out of the room with his ear pressed against the phone. Niki waited patiently on his bed, twiddling with her thumbs and admiring the collection of band and movie posters. She rolled her eyes when they landed on a stack of playboy magazines "typical boy." She muttered to herself, suddenly the idea of sitting on his bed where he had intimate "romantic" moments with his hand didn't sound so pleasing. Curiosity got to the better of her as she left Jonesy's room. She walked through the hall smiling as she looked at each family picture. Each one filled with love and happiness, everyone was smiling wide. Niki thought of her empty hall back at home, dismal, barren, not a picture in sight.

She noticed in all the pictures Jonesy was at least three or older, there were no baby pictures of him. Same with the gawky nerdy looking boy she assumed was Jonesy's brother. "Maybe they were adopted." Niki thought to herself.

She ended up at a door that was slightly ajar, she couldn't help but to open it completely. It was a dark blue room with minimal furniture or belongings. The desolate room had one bed, above it hung posters of stars and constellations. The desk had a computer, a poster of moon phases hung high above it, and a black electric guitar leaning against the leg. Niki's eyes landed on a magnificent shiny telescope, made of chrome with multiple lenses. Right next to it mounted on the wall was a vintage riffle; it hung like an antique, like it had never been shot. Niki found herself walking towards it, like a moth drawn to the flame. She noticed right away it had a flower engraved on the hilt, just like the gun Brody leant her father. Her hand slowly reached out to touch it, like a forbidden fruit.

"I wouldn't touch that."

Niki jumped and let out a gasp, she had no clue Jonesy was right behind her; he had been so light on his feet.

She was expecting him to be angry or annoyed, but he still wore his friendly smile "I-I'm sorry." She blurted out like some bumbling idiot.

Jonesy shrugged his shoulders "It's fine, _he_ wouldn't like it though."

Niki's eyebrows raised "He? Your brother? He hasn't been home in six years, right?" Niki watched as her words wounded Jonesy, he clearly had some delusion his brother would come back to Beacon Hills.

His eyebrows knitted together as his kind blue eyes locked with hers "I mean, he's visited once or twice, we usually visit him."

Niki's attention turned back to the riffle "All of you hunt?" her voice laced with venom.

Jonesy shuffled in his red converse shoes awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck "Yes, all of us, not often though" He gave her the honest truth, knowing she wouldn't like it.

A look of disgust painted its way across Niki's face "That's inhumane; it takes some sort of monster to pull a trigger on an animal." The words slipped right out of her mouth, once again her brain to mouth filter was broken.

But Jonesy didn't seem offended by it at all, in fact an amused smile formed on his lips. He took a step towards Niki, his dark hair falling over his eyes. His eyes that were once a friendly blue were starting to look more like a stormy grey "You're right Niki, I'm defiantly not human."

Niki swallowed hard as he walked closer "In fact…"

He turned around and pulled the electric guitar off the ground and began shredding away "I'm a rock star god sent from Fender heaven where I am joined by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and Kurt Cobain! " he rolled on the floor as his fingers ran over the fret like liquid.

Niki couldn't help but to burst in laughter over his playfulness. There was something quirky, genuine, and likeable about Jonesy. Niki applauded him as he got up; Jonesy did a curtsey "Thank you! Thank you, I accept beer, burgers, or boobs as form of payment."

Niki rolled her eyes as she threw a pillow at him. He only laughed it off "You should come see my band play, we're called Lugosi." Niki let out a snort of laughter "Like Bela Lugosi?"

Jonesy gave her one of his playful winks "That's right ma'am, we usually play at Battle of the Bands, which is usually during the Lacrosse games." Niki noticed him rolling his eyes, he ran his fingers through his hair "But hey, it sure beats watching your dickhead of a boyfriend run around with a butterfly net." Jonesy tried to muffle his words with a fake cough, but it was no use.

Niki instantly grew frustrated "What do you have against my boyfriend?" Jonesy set his guitar down and took a step towards Niki "Is that a trick question? You really want the honest truth?"

Crossing her arms she took a step towards Jonesy, proving she can handle anything "I'm tough as nails Jonesy, I can dish it out."

The teenage boy wrung his fingers nervously before he took in a deep breath "What the hell are you doing with Jackson? He's a spoiled brat who gets everything he wants. He's an ass hat Niki, his ego hardly fits in Beacon Hills. Actually it's hard to reside in this town when his ego is competing with Lydia Martin's." Jonesy's hands waved frantically in the air as he vented, his frustration at a boiling point, brimming over " I mean I haven't known you long, but I know you're not her damn puppet, so why are you letting her control you?"

Niki couldn't contain her anger, she wasn't as tough as she thought "I'm nobodies puppet!" she snapped, this somehow turned into a yelling match between the two of them.

Jonesy let out a mocking laugh "Oh yeah? Do you always wear flowery dresses? Do you always wear pink lipstick and high heels? Do you always carry a designer bag?" Niki's cheeks flushed a rosy red, she hated wearing high heels more than anything, and the bag she only bought to pacify Lydia's complaints "You don't know Lydia!" her little fists curled up.

"You don't know Jackson! And you certainly don't know me." Niki turned on her heels to leave the room but Jonesy's cold voice made her stop "You're smarter than you look Niki."

She rolled her eyes at his words "So I've been told."

"So tell me, you didn't you find it odd that Jackson and Lydia were missing for a majority of your party?"

The words cut right through her like a knife; she turned to face him, hair whipping to the side. She opened her mouth to think of what to say, but nothing came out. Jonesy wore no friendly grin, instead he looked sorry "Think about it, Niki…Jackson kept handing you drinks for a reason."

"They wouldn't" was all she could say as she left the room.

* * *

"The greatest movie? Have you forgotten about Kill Bill where she takes down twenty men on her own?" Niki was on the edge of the passenger seat as her fingers ran through Jackson's hair. She brushed off what Jonesy had told her earlier, her boyfriend was raised to be loyal. He had been the one who had pulled her out of a slump when her mother died, without him she would have no friends. And he was her first boyfriend, holding a special place in her heart.

His forehead wrinkled as he pushed her hand away "Greatest movie is obviously Rudy, most inspirational sports movie-"

Lydia's cheery voice piped in from the back seat "The Notebook." Both Jackson and Niki turned to face the red head with annoyed expressions "You're kidding…right?" Jackson dead panned.

Lydia went back to filing her nails "No, I want to watch the notebook."

Niki drew in a sigh and looked to her boyfriend, they both stepped out of the car "Let's just rent the notebook." Niki whispered over the roof of the car.

"Did you forget this was supposed to be our date?" Jackson whispered back.

"Did you forget Lydia gets what Lydia wants? And this is what you get when you mention our date in front of her, she just jumps right in. And this is what happens when you don't use Netflix." The two bickered back and forth until finally Jackson went ahead and walked into the video store, Niki walked right after him in a hurry to catch up as best as she could in her high heels.

Her hand covered the back of his neck as soon as she noticed a deep scratch embedded on his skin "Jackson what happened?"

He only swatted her hand away in annoyance as he walked to the drama section in search of Lydia's movie. Niki drew in a long sigh as she walked towards the back of the video store looking for assistance; she didn't feel like being near Jackson's mood swings "Hello?"

But no one responded to Niki's call.

The lights above her head started to flicker violently as she walked up to the door that lead to the employee office.

Her eyes widened like two saucers, a lifeless body was strewn across the floor in an unnatural position. A gash from his neck to his belly made it clear, he was killed. Niki opened her mouth to let out a blood curdling scream, but Jackson covered her mouth with his hand and whispered in her ear "There is something in here with us, be silent." Silence is exactly what she gave Jackson, but she swore she could hear her knees shaking all the way down to her high heels.

Once Niki nodded her head Jackson removed his hand. The two of them slowly backed away careful not to make any sudden movements or sounds. Jackson had a vice grip on her sleeve, like she was a child about to wander off. Just then the lights cut out; Niki couldn't help but to let out a scream. Quickly she covered her mouth with both hands, that was it, she had messed up.

A loud growl came from behind them. Jackson let go of her jacket "run!" Niki bolted like the starting gun went off, but she couldn't run in her death trap heels; there was no way she could make it to the door.

The only option was to hide behind a video shelf, Niki cowered in the farthest corner. The sound of her heart was pounding in her ear, like a distant drum. Her eyes landed on Jackson who was crouched in the aisle across from her. For the first time since she met him he was scared, his blue eyes trying to find some sort of comfort in hers, but she was just as scared as him. In that moment she wanted to reach out and grab his hand, she wanted him to tell her everything would be alright. The growling grew louder as the creature walked down the aisles, closer to them. It had to be the mountain lion that was causing all the animal attack casualties, Jackson and Niki were going to be added to the list.

Her eyes landed on a box of fluorescent light tubes, she bit her lip as she began to contemplate an escape plan; she knew what she had to do. Another loud growl ripped into the air as the shelves on the other side began tumbling down in a domino effect "Jackson!" she shouted but it was too late as a shelf pinned him down. Nikita grabbed the light tube and scooted closer to the edge of the shelf, her shaky hands gripped the light tube like a baseball bat.

"Niki." Jackson whimpered her name as he made eye contact with her, his lower lip trembling. A large shadow fell on Jackson, the creature was a mere inches away.

Niki jumped out from the shelf assuming a jiu jitsu stance she had learned years ago and swung the light tube like she was hitting a home run; the glass shattered everywhere. A loud yelp was let out by the creature; Niki fell backwards as shards flew towards her eyes. Luckily she closed her eyes on time as they scraped past her cheeks and forehead. This time an earth shattering roar blasted through the room, with her eyes still shut she began scooting backwards as fast as she could, little shards of glass pricked at her palms, smearing her own blood on the floor. The brunette stopped as soon as she felt wiry fur brush up against her arm. Within seconds her whole body went numb, like she was immersed in cold water. With closed eyes she could sense the creature was standing next to her, it smelled of blood and pines.

She was drowning in an ocean of fear, and the creature was circling her like shark; literally inhaling the scent of her blood, it was going to devour her whole. Without meaning to her shaky fingers wrapped themselves in the silver chain around her neck, as if it would provide her with courage; and it did…

Niki opened her eyes to see two ruby red savage eyes staring back at her; she swore the creature looked just as startled as her when she let out an ear piercing scream. As it leapt onto a shelf and pounced out a window; a second later Lydia's scream was heard. The frightened teenager got up, only to fall back on her knees again as her bones rattled louder than her heart.

* * *

Stiles' POV

"Unit 1 do you copy? " The radio went off, Stiles' hand shot out to grab the walkie, only to have his father slap it away. His father answered the call as the two of them sat in his squad car; this was his favorite way to bond with his father. The happy teenager stuffed a handful of curly fries in his mouth as he leaned back in his seat. This was the first night he had without having to deal with werewolves or Derek, but things were still on red alert.

Just the other night he and Scott saved Derek from sawing his arm off. Allison's crazy aunt was in town with a personal vendetta towards Derek, the hunters were on Scott's tail, and the so called all mighty Alpha was ten steps ahead of them.

Stiles turned to look at his father who had paled over "Dad?" his voice muffled with the fistful of curly fries still hanging out of his mouth.

"Another animal attack." His father responded.

Moments later they were at the video store "This is what happens when you don't use Netflix." Stiles muttered under his breath as the Sheriff walked out of the car and met with his deputies.

He was ordered to stay in the car, but that was like telling a dolphin not to swim free. Stiles stepped out of the car and immediately spotted a sobbing Lydia; he walked towards her to comfort her.

"I just want to go home, that's a basic concept to understand, especially for a rent-a-cop like you!" Stiles' head snapped to the side when he heard Jackson belittling his father; nobody talked to his father like that.

"Show some respect Jackson!"

Stiles' eyes went wide as his heart dropped to his feet; Niki had emerged from the back of a paramedic truck and walked towards Jackson. Her face cut with tiny scrapes and she held her injured hand. "Just answer his damn questions so we can go home already."

Sheriff Stilinski stood between the couple looking between the two of them like he was watching a ping pong match. "I'll pretend you didn't say that, You will speak when spoken to, Niki!" Jackson snapped as the two stood face to face.

Stiles felt his anger build to the surface, no girl should ever be treated or the way Jackson treated Niki "Jackson." Stiles started "Just answer the-"

The Jock pointed a finger to Stiles "Stiles shut up before I decide to shove you In a locker tomorrow."

The Sheriff's face went red with anger, but he could do nothing at this point as other deputies joined to watch the argument.

Niki wagged her finger in Jackson's face "Don't talk to Stiles like that!" Stiles' happy heart was floating like a balloon, she stood up for him. Niki walked towards Stiles "I'm so sorry, he can be such a jerk somet-"

Jackson grabbed her arm with a smirk "I guess now would be an appropriate time to tell you. You're nothing but dead weight to me Niki, I'm dumping your ass."

The Sheriff and Stiles exchanged looks of pure shock "Is he really doing this right now?" his father whispered.

For a moment Niki didn't say anything as she was on the verge of tears. She looked like a glass deer, so fragile and chipped away at. Stiles had never seen her look so vulnerable and small, he wanted nothing more than to hold her, comfort her. Gently she bit her bottom lip and looked down, but when she looked up Jackson fell backwards.

Niki had just punched him square in the nose, a sight Stiles had never thought to see in a million years. He had to excuse himself from the scene to run inside his father's squad car.

"Fuck yeah!" Stiles screamed as he fist pumped the air, even though a few officers were looking at him with blank stares he didn't care. She just did what Stiles and Scott had been wanting to do for years, and she got away with it. On top of that she was no longer linked to Jackson "fuck yes!" he screamed once more.

Stiles stepped out of the car calm and collected, like nothing had happened. He noticed his father and Tara holding Niki back, Jackson was still on the floor holding his bleeding nose.

"I can't believe you Jackson! I just saved your life!" She screamed as her small hands reached out to grab him.

Finally they were able to pull her away and calm her down. Tara looked to Sheriff Stilinski "Do we charge her with battery?" The Sheriff let out a small laugh "No, I think I'll let this one slide." The two let out a laugh. Tara looked to Sheriff Stilinski again, but this time she wore a warm smile "Isn't that the girl you saved from the Hale house six years ago?"

There was a twinkle behind Sheriff Stilinski's eyes, as he looked to Niki with pride "It sure is."

"I will sue her; I swear I will sue her!" Jackson yelled as he held a towel to his bleeding nose.

Stiles had enough with Jackson's pathetic threats "Good luck with that Jackson. Her father is one of the most respected men in town, and you really want to admit you got your ass handed to you by a girl who weighs 115 pounds?" That got Jackson to shut up, a self satisfied smirk found its way on Stiles' face.

The smile wasn't going anywhere as he walked towards Niki who was sitting on the back of the paramedic truck. Her left hand was being tended to as the medic pulled out small shards of glass out steel tweezers.

"What are you smiling about Stilinski?" her head was rested against the door; she looked like she had been to hell and back. Even though she just had a traumatic night she still found it in her to throw a jab or two at Stiles with her brazen attitude.

His smile fell, Stiles was being selfish, celebrating the fact that she was single. The medic finished his job and wrapped her hand in fresh white gauze. Stiles sat next to her "I'm sorry."

A weak smile formed on her full lips "What are you sorry for?"

He truly was sorry that she was involved, somehow Niki was strung into the Alpha's antics. This attack was personal, the Alpha was taunting Scott.

Niki looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she held herself with poise and grace.

"Hey, it's okay." Stiles assured Niki as his hand rubbed her back "Just let it out, I won't judge you." That was all it took as she buried her head in his chest and let her emotions pour out like a broken dam. His chin rested on top of her head as he inhaled the scent of her jasmine perfume.

His long fingers stroked her light brown hair "I know you've been asked a million questions tonight…But what did you see in there?"

"Red eyes." Her voice muffled in his shirt. Stiles let out a sigh of relief, it would be easy to persuade her it was only a mountain lion.

His eyes traveled upwards to the roof of the video store. There Scott and Derek stood over the edge, the hatred was clear in Derek's steel blue eyes. Stiles felt the hairs on his back stand on end as he locked eyes with Derek.

Their mission was clear: find the Alpha, and put an end to him.

* * *

**Let us celebrate the end of Niki and Jackson! Thoughts on this chapter? leave me some love :]**

**PS: I'll be posting the songs I use in my chapters on Tumblr, if you can't find the song, it'll be on there!**

**Also, sorry for the long chapter :[**

* * *

**Before I forget, faceclaims!**

**Nikita Grace - Lily Collins**

**Walter Grace - Jon Hamm**

**Brody Jones - Antonio Banderas**

**Jonesy Jones - Nicholas Hoult**


	10. Fuck these heels!

**Hello everyone, thank you so much for the love, glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. I enjoyed writing this one, I hope you can tell :] Sadly I had to leave out a very important and my all time favorite episode Night School. It had to be done because Niki wouldn't be involved in Night School. If she did then I would have to reveal Werewolves to her, and that's not happening...yet. Plus it would be odd of her to be in two animal attacks in the span of one night. Also I'm so very sorry if the timeline in the story is off.**

* * *

**Sun of a Gun - Oh Land**

His shadows moved in the darkness as he softly made his way down the hall, careful to not make a sound. The filtered light of the moon seeped through the window, illuminating the path to her room. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on ends as the sound of a chamber being loaded echoed in his ears. Derek put his hands up in surrender, one hand holding a bouquet of sunflowers. He turned around, only to see Walter holding up a riffle.

The older man let out a sigh "really Derek? You couldn't just use the front door?" The gun, however was still pointed at Derek's chest. The Beta gulped loudly "nice gun, Walter."

Walter pointed the gun downwards "Yeah, sorry about that." Derek's eyes narrowed "I didn't think you would be home."

A sad smile formed on Walter's lips "You know I got this gun just to protect her…" Derek's steel blue eyes glimmered in the moonlight "That's hard to do when you're never home."

Walter stepped in the moonlight, his olive green eyes piercing into Derek "I'm busy saving lives Derek, casualties of the Alpha that you promised to stop."

Derek's body tensed up, him and Scott had been trying their best, but things were so rocky and unclear "We have no leads yet, but-"

"And why didn't you tell me Kate Argent was back in town?" Walter ran his fingers through his dark hair "I care for you, I care for Nikita. But you need to leave town, don't bother saying goodbye to her."

Derek shook his head "The Alpha that killed my sister is in town, the woman who killed my entire family is in town. I have them both where I want them."

Walter's brows pinched together, the worry was evident in his tired green eyes "I don't want Niki involved in this."

"She won't. The Alpha didn't want anything to do with her otherwise she would have been dead, he won't be coming back for her." Walter cocked his head towards her door "She's asleep, but I think the Sheriff's kid is in there too."

Derek let out a groan "Want me to scare him away for you?"

Walter's smile grew "Please do, he hasn't left her side all night, and I really don't want to chase him out with the riffle."

Derek couldn't help but to smile at the image of Stiles being chased out of the house by Walter. His hand gently pushed the door open.

Sure enough as Walter said Stiles was sitting bedside, Niki deep in slumber. It irked Derek how much Stiles cared for Niki; the twig of a human wasn't worthy enough for her. She needed someone who was stoic and bold, someone who could protect her, someone who would go to the end of the world for her.

Stiles couldn't provide her with any of those, he could only provide her with lackluster jokes and tripe sarcasm. Derek walked closer to the bed, the teenager had no clue the beta was in the room. Stiles was scribbling away at a paper, it looked like he was trying to solve who the Alpha is. The teenager's head lifted off the paper, as his attention turned to Niki who was stirring in her sleep. Her brown hair a mess, strewn across her face, the sheets tangled between her legs.

Her eyebrows stitched together like she was in deep thought, Niki was having a nightmare.

Stiles' hand reached out to caress her cheek but Derek's hand shot out and grabbed his thin wrist.

Like a fish out of water Stiles' mouth hung open. Derek's hand found Niki's necklace, he ran his fingers over the initials. He closed his eyes as his memory caught a glimpse of Cora, wearing the matching necklace.

"What are you doing here!?" Stiles whispered loudly.

Derek turned to give him a death glare, enough to make Stiles shrink back in his seat. " I should be asking you that question."

Stiles' eyes scanned nervously around the room "I went to check on Lydia, she's too doped up on Vicadin to comprehend what happened." Derek nodded, feeling relieved.

"Jackson hasn't said a word yet, and Nikita only remembers red eyes. It took me an hour to convince her it was a mountain lion."

Derek let out a sigh of relief then grabbed Stiles' arm with an iron clad grip "Let's go."

The scrawny boy tried to resist but wasn't strong enough "where are we going?"

"Beacon Hills High, Scott is going to bring the Alpha to us."

* * *

Niki's POV

Her eyes opened to the plain white ceiling, Niki cringed feeling the tightness in her face from the small little scabs. Her head rolled to the side to see her desk cluttered with flowers and get well soon cards. It had been two days since the animal attack. Jackson, Niki, and Lydia were given a few days off of school to recuperate. Her eyes landed on a familiar record, It was the one her and Jonesy listened to the other day. But it was the giant obnoxious teddy bear stuffed in the corner of her room that made her smile. She got out of bed and kneeled on the floor to read the card that came with the bear; I thought a mountain lion would be too much, feel better – Stiles.

She let out a giggle, loud enough for her father to run into her room with a riffle "Are you okay!?" his face red and puffy, he must have ran from downstairs.

"Dad!" Niki exclaimed. A slight smile formed on his face "Sorry, I-I thought you were in trouble. I guess I just forgot what your laugh sounds like." Niki let out a sigh as she flopped to the floor, once again staring at the ceiling "Do I have to go back to school?"

Surprisingly her father sat right beside her "If it were up to me I would lock you in this house and never allow you to leave. But seeing how I'm a progressive democratic liberal single father supporting feminism it would tarnish my image." Niki let out a small laugh "we wouldn't want to ruin your image, would we?"

Walter looked to her with a beaming smile, his single dimple matching hers "No, plus I sort of have a lunch date here…So I kind of need you to leave." Niki's mouth hung open, in shock of her father's brash humor, similar to hers, and the fact he has a date "A date? Like with another female?"

"No, a date with the Sheriff's kid." Walter dead panned.

Niki scrunched her face trying to imagine it "You two would make a good couple, but I think he may be too young for you."

Walter let out a hearty chuckle; she couldn't remember the last time she heard her father laugh.

Niki stood up "Alright, I'll go to school."

Walter was still on the floor smiling "Hey kiddo, if that Jackson boy gives you a hard time, punch him in the face again and give him hell."

* * *

Stiles' POV

His eyes were burning from lack of sleep as he leaned against the locker. Scott was in bad shape just like him; both of them had a crazy night. It was eight hours ago they were here being perused by the Alpha; somehow Allison had gotten strung up in their mess. And now his best friend was broken hearted and confused more than ever. Both boys looked at the end of the hall where Jonesy was chatting up with Allison, her infectious smile wide as she ran her fingers through her dark hair.

Stiles' eyes narrowed on the popular teen "I hate him, I hate Jonesy." Surprisingly Scott didn't feel threatened by him as he shrugged his shoulders "I mean he's cool I guess."

It was like venom to his ears "Cool? COOL?" Jonesy was the kind of guy loved by everyone, and for what? His strikingly good looks? The fact he was the captain of the wrestling team? Was it his non-stop work with charities? Yet humbled by the fact he was the chief editor of the year book club? Whatever it was Stiles didn't understand it, all he knew was that he hated him. "I'm pretty sure he was born with a six pack." Stiles seethed, even Jackson felt threatened by Jonesy. "He's probably thinking of ways to sweep Allison off of her feet."

His best friend's eyes narrowed on the two, listening in on the conversation "Nope, they're literally talking about geometry."

Stiles felt his jealousy bubbling over"he probably wants to bisect her angle."

Scott sighed as he lightly banged his head on the locker "The Alpha is still at large, Derek is missing, and Allison hates me…This sucks."

Just then Niki appeared, walking down the hall. To Stiles' surprise people started clapping, for everyone knew the heroic act Niki performed the night of the attack.

Stiles' couldn't help but to smile, almost proud of her. The lively brunette walked past him with a smile as she headed into her class. Stiles ran after her "Hey, glad to see you're up and running."

"Running is what I do." She responded in a perky voice as her heels tapped on the floor. Stiles stared at her blankly until it came to him "Of course running is what she does, she's on the cross country team." He thought to himself.

Stiles scratched the back of his neck with anxiety, his heart was beating against his chest; he was about to take the plunge. "Listen, I know this may be too soon but-"

Niki was on the tip of her toes; looking about…She was looking for Jackson or Lydia. Her attention returned back to Stiles "I'm sorry…what?" her single dimple was showing, making him weak at the knees.

He couldn't ask her out, what the hell was he thinking? She was just dumped by Jackson publically and she was too high on the social pyramid for the likes of him. He had to think of something to say, and fast "You should name the teddy bear Corinne.' Her eyebrows arched up, confused as to why Stiles was acting like such a spazz "Why would anyone name their teddy bear Corinne?"

Stiles snorted in laughter "You're totally right!"With that he tried to give her a playful punch on the arm, except he missed and hit her left boob instead. 'Stiles!" Niki gasped as her hand covered her breast.

Her mouth dropped open as his face went beet red "Oh gosh…I am so." Stiles bit down on his fist, unable to finish his sentence. There was nothing for him to say as she stared at him completely taken aback by the situation "It's…its okay." She tried to help mend the awkwardness, but it just made things worse. Stiles took off, bolting down the hall and nearly tripping on his two feet, never wanting to look back.

* * *

Niki's POV

The day was coming to an end as Niki sat in her art class. She couldn't seem to get the image of red savage eyes out of her head. The leather bound sketchbook was littered with images of evil brooding eyes. Drawing with her cut up hand was a little harder than she thought it would be, the healing had been slower than expected, but thankfully the shards had missed her muscles and tendons. But every time she looked down at her hand she was reminded of that night.

Not only was she disturbed by the mountain lion, but she was still hurting from Jackson's words "You're just dead weight to me." His voice echoed in her mind. Maybe they could talk it out, figure out how to mend their relationship…Surely they weren't done just yet.

Niki's eyebrows stitched together, now that she thought of it she hadn't seen Jackson or Lydia today.

Maybe Jonesy was right "No, they wouldn't do that." She told herself. The bell rang and school was done for the day. Nikita tucked in her blue floral top into her tight red high waisted shorts and strutted down the halls, the sound of her nude high heels clicking on the linoleum floor.

She knew it was a long shot but maybe Jackson was at his locker. Wringing her fingers nervously she thought of what to say to him, how to apologize to him for socking him in the face.

A small smile appeared when she saw him, relief washed over her as she pushed through the sea of students. He was leaning against his locker talking to someone, a sweet smile formed on his face.

As Nikita got closer she saw he was not only talking to Lydia, but holding her hands.

The world froze around Niki as she tried to process what was right in front of her…Jonesy was right. People bumped into her, but she felt paralyzed, hurt, betrayed. A lump rose in her throat as she tried to hold back tears, her feet carried her towards them.

As soon as Jackson saw her he dropped Lydia's hand, as if he could get away with it.

"How could you." Niki seethed at the two of them. Lydia looked especially hurt, at least she had the grace of acting ashamed.

"I don't understand what I did to deserve this." The words were hard to choke out.

Jackson tilted his head to the side in amusement "Let's not be so dramatic Nikita, its high school, it happens."

***"IT HAPPENS?" Niki didn't mean to shout, but Jackson's pathetic excuse was pissing her off. A crowd slowly started to form in the hall as everyone watched the train wreck that was about to take place.

Jackson clearly embarrassed decided to turn everything on her "Hey, who do you think you are telling everyone you saved my life!?" now he was the one shouting at her, as Lydia tried to hold him back.

"You're nothing to me Nikita, you didn't save anyone, I was the one who pulled you to safety." His face was turning a slight shade of red.

Students were starting to gasp and whisper into each other's ears, almost as if they were taking a wager of who would win the argument.

That was it; Niki had enough "you're right you pulled me to safety…But if I recall correctly you were laying down face down for most of it. I'm pretty sure I'm the one who swung the light bulb onto the beast." Jackson's eyes shifted side to side, like he was looking for an escape route; but the hall was filled with onlookers now.

"It's not like I have the scars to prove it." Niki held out her bandaged hand. Jackson took a step forward to get in her face "You know what Niki?", but with one hand she pushed him against the locker with ease.

"Oh no, I'm not done here." A small devious smile curled on her lips "The problem with you, Jackson Whittemore is that you had a silver spoon shoved so deep in your ass since the day you were born that no one has ever stood up to you. I'm glad to be the first….You egotistical asshat." Her finger ran under his chin and tilted his head upwards, catching his bruised nose in the light "And you wear that bruise so well." He slapped her hand away in anger, his nostrils flaring. Niki was certain steam would shoot out of his ears any moment.

Lydia grabbed Jackson's arm as she shot Niki a dirty glare "Come on, she's not worth our time, she can go jump off Suicide Hill for all I care." The redhead hissed.

The words were razor sharp and cut deeply, making the fire stir in Nikita even more "I haven't started with you, Lydia."

Lydia froze, ready for the storm of harsh words Niki was about to spew out.

Niki gritted her teeth and clenched her small fists "You were supposed to be my best friend." This time Niki chose to speak more softly "It's okay Lydia, I'm obviously the fool here for thinking If I changed myself completely, dressed and talked to your liking you would never hurt me the way you did. But how does one satisfy a self centered, narcissistic, boyfriend stealing whore such as yourself?"

The crowd went wild with hysteria, some covered their mouths, others whipped out their cell phones to record.

Niki began taking off the nude heels off of her feet "You tried to tame me Lydia, you tried to change me. I can only wear heels, I can only wear skirts, I'm not allowed to cuss, and I have to have my nails done all the time. I was the idiot who let you try. To that I say fuck you Jackson." Lydia was trying to find a way to avoid all the cell phones taking videos as she looked for a way out of the crowded hall. "Fuck you Lydia."

Lydia's face was going bright red at this point; Niki dropped the high heels on the floor "And fuck these heels!"

With that Niki turned around, whipping her hair in Lydia's face and made her leave. The students practically gave Niki a standing ovation as they began to clap, some of them even patting her on the back, others booing her.

Niki didn't care as her bare feet treaded on the cold floor, the adrenaline was swimming through her veins, she was on a new high. She couldn't believe the words that had come out of her mouth, it didn't sound anything like her. But she couldn't stop smiling, a big part of her felt relieved. Another part of her was absolutely hurt, and wanted nothing more than to make Jackson jealous…And she knew how.

She bursted through the doors of the yearbook club, where Jonesy and some other boy were working on a page.

Jonesy turned around in shock "Uhh…What are you doing in here? Matt and I are working on-."

"He can leave." She cocked her head towards the boy named Matt, gladly he ran out of the room.

Jonesy got up from his seat, almost looking nervous "If this is about the argument we had I'm sorry."

Niki stepped towards him, in his personal space, forcing him against a wall.

"You're taking me to winter formal." Her blunt words straight to the point.

Jonesy's mouth hung open "Excuse me?"

"You are taking me to Winter formal." She repeated, she didn't stutter once.

"Why would I do that?" Jonesy asked as a soft smile spread on his lips "I mean I get I'm irresistible Niki, but-"

"Because I said so."

Jonesy let out a sigh, he thought he knew what stubborn was…Until he met Nikita. "Do I have to wear matching colors with you?"

Niki shook her head 'No."

"Do I have to buy you a corsage?"

"No."

Jonesy stuffed his hands in his pockets "Do I have to dance?"

"Yep." Niki popped the P.

Jonesy let out a sigh "Can I do the robot?"

"I prefer if you didn't."

"Can I at least wear my converse?"

Niki gave him a death glare, Jonesy assumed that meant a no.

A devious smirk formed on his face "Is this to get back at Jackson?"

Niki suddenly felt ashamed, she was using her friend to get back at Jackson. She knew Jackson would feel threatened by Jonesy, any guy would "I…yes." Her head hung low as she felt guilt.

Jonesy's finger slid under her chin and lifted her head so they locked eyes "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I'll pick you up at eight."

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**Weee, let me know what you think of the chapter :]**

**Big shoutout to the talented Artificial-paradises who made an amazing illustration of Nikita, it can be found on my tumblr :]**

**Thank you to those of you who continue to support me : Jinkiestrap, Bri, Kolowolfik, Storyofsurvival, Artificial- Pardises, Emma, Sixx.a.m, Vacarp1993, Zombieassasinninja,royboy, and the lovely guests.**

**Check out my tumblr or Polyvore for little snippets of whats to come next.**


	11. Drop the game

**Hey everyone, sorry for taking a while to update. This chapter was a bit difficult to write, it is literally the only chapter standing between me and getting to the good stuff. But now that I have finished this chapter I get to write my favorite chapters :D This chapter was a little show, but now you guys are in for a ride ;]**

**So give yourselves a pat on the back if you've read every single chapter, and please know how thankful I am. Sadly my chapter didn't do too hot compared to the other chapters, so if you guys have any suggestions or feedback on how to better myself please let me know. This story is like my baby and I want it to do well.**

**There is no song for this chapter, if you have one please let me know! Thank you Brianna for helping with the phone conversation.**

From below it looked like he could reach out and grab the moon, the retched, cursed moon. Scott was on his back, wondering how that powerful lunar rock had so much power over him, how it could cause so much destruction. It didn't make sense.

A lot of things didn't make sense lately. Scott's life was a mess at the moment, the Alpha was menacing the town and tensions were rising, Allison's psychotic aunt was closing in on them, Jackson was starting to put the pieces together and Allison…. "Allison." Scott whispered as he watched his warm breath fog into the air.

His lips met the bottle of whiskey, stolen from Sheriff' Stilinski's private collection."Girls, man." Stiles slurred "Can't live with them, can't live without them." Scott passed the bottle to Stiles, drinking clearly had no effect on him, unlike his best friend.

"She hates me." Scott mumbled as he sat up, Stiles was still on his back, eyes glazed over and staring at the moon.

"Nah, dude. " *Stiles broke into a hiccup, only to giggle afterwards "Don't worry; there are plenty of girls *hiccup* "in the sea." Stiles held the bottle in both hands like a baby drinking milk.

"Pretty sure it's plenty of fish." Scott corrected his best friend.

The wasted teenager pulled his lips off the bottle with a pop "Yeah, whatever, and at least you had a chance with Allison. I'll never get a chance with Niki. She's so beautiful and special, I don't think she knows it. But she's out of my league, I don't stand a chance."

The betas eyebrows knitted together "What makes you think you don't stand a chance? Just call her sometime and tell her how you feel." Stiles rolled onto his belly, his cheek resting against the wet earth as he let out a groan "I have to pee." Stiles got up wandering into the darkness, leaving Scott alone with his thoughts. The Beta waited, after five minutes he knew something was up. A thought dawned on him…He had given Stiles his phone so he wouldn't call Allison.

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Niki's POV

"So you've never…You know..." Allison bit her lip to suppress her smile.

Niki sat on Allison's bed as she thumbed through a fashion magazine "Nope." Allison sat next to her "I guess I've had you wrong the whole time, I thought you were some expert when it came to sex."

The blushing brunette let out a laugh "What do you think I am? Some back alley Sally?"

Both Allison and Nikita agreed they had to have a girl's night, just to unwind and gossip.

Allison collapsed on the bed in a fit of laughter "back alley Sally!? I just thought you weren't a virgin, I mean you did date Jackson."

Niki shrugged her shoulders "I guess it just never felt right with Jackson. Speaking of….What happened to you and Scott?"

Her friend hugged a pillow to her chest as she took in a breath "He's been keeping secrets from me." Just then Allison's cell phone went off…It was Scott.

"Answer it." Niki whispered. Allison shook her head "I don't think it's a good idea." As soon as the phone stopped ringing it started again. "I know you still care for him, Allison."

The two girls looked at the ringing phone for a few seconds until Allison caved in and answered.

Her face scrunched in confusion at the voice on the other end "Stiles?" Immediately he was put on speakerphone, the two girls burst in a fit of giggles over his slurs and hiccups.

"Stiles, what do you want?" Allison sounded frustrated, maybe deep down she was hoping to hear Scott's voice on the other end.

"Wha? Whoah! Rude, Allison. Well hellllloooo to you t-too." Stiles responded "You're like a girl." He hiccupped mid sentence "Right?"

Allison let out a sigh as Niki suppressed her giggles "Yes Stiles, I am certainly a girl…Are you drunk? Where's Scott?"

Stiles ignored Allison's questions "See I have this problem that needs to to beee sorteddd out! A problem, yeah." He was clearly a mess.

"What's this about Stiles?" Allison's patience was wearing thin.

"A girl, a reaaaaally pretty girl that you're friends with."

Niki slumped on the bed as she blew a strand of hair out of her face, she knew who he was talking about, Lydia. An odd feeling came over her, one that might be associated with jealousy.

"I get it Stiles, you're into Lydia, but I'm pretty sure you're not her-"

"NO, the other one. The one who actually knows I exist. With the pretty brown hair that smells like jasmine. And those big green eyes and thick lashes. And-and that smile…..Oh that smile with that ONE single pretty dimple…You know what I'm talking about?"

Niki covered her mouth, desperately hiding her single dimple as a blush found its way on her cheeks, Allison's mouth dropped as she looked to her friend.

"Yeah, yeah I know what you're talking about." She responded with a smile in her voice.

"I'M TALKING ABOUT NIKITA GRACE!" Stiles shouted so loud Allison had to step away from her phone "I got that Stiles!"

Stiles started gushing over the phone "She's so pretty and nice, and she's not who I thought she was…She's so much better, and I want to kiss those full lips of hers, and I want to-"

"Damnit, Stiles!" Scott's voice was heard on the other end "Are you drunk dialing right now!?"

"Dude, go away Scott! I could have been peeing right now, and you would have seen my little Stiles, that's against bro code."

"Stiles give me the phone, now!" Both girls listened to what sounded like the two boys scuffling on the floor, wrestling for the phone. Allison hung up, a coy smile was painted across her face as she stared down at Nikita.

Niki gathered her knees to her chest and hid her face, she wasn't going to let Allison see the giddy expression she was wearing.

Her friend sat next to her on the bed "So, what do you think about that?"

"That drunk fool?" Niki waved her hand in the air dismissively "I'm not into that goober."

Allison's eyebrow arched up "Are you sure?"

Niki changed the subject as best as she could "Hey let's invite Danny over, and surf the web for cute Winter Formal dresses."

* * *

Lunch at school the next day had been awkward, with Lydia and Jackson sitting at the table Niki decided to isolate herself. Sadly Jonesy was home sick, so she couldn't even hang out with him. He was sweet enough to keep her company through text, but it wasn't the same. She found a seat at an empty table in the farthest corner of the cafeteria and decided it was far enough from the two people she hated the most. Before she knew it her table was crowded with students she had never taken the time to talk to. Some were her cross country team mates, others were in her art class, and a few were people she had seen in passing. All were people Lydia forbid her from talking to. Each person was eager to talk to her, happy someone finally stood up to Lydia and Jackson. Niki was too overwhelmed by the attention and admiration she was receiving to notice Stiles had sat across from her. His smile was warm and friendly "looks like you're popular without even trying."

"Well, sometimes I do want to wrap myself up and call myself a gift." Niki gave him a playful wink causing Stiles to slightly blush "Way to remain modest, Nikita."

She let out a shy laugh as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear " I appreciate the sarcasm Stiles." Niki got up and motioned Stiles to walk her to her locker. It was wrong of her to admit, but she was enjoying the attention a little too much; not just from the friends she made over lunch, but from Stiles.

His goofy smile was wide as ever, he was enjoying the chase very much "I know you enjoy the sarcasm Niki, people need to understand sarcasm isn't a hobby, it's a way of life for us." Stiles walked into a trash can and knocked it over, but it didn't falter his steps as he walked Niki to her locker.

Niki raised a brow as she opened her locker "Us?" the goofball let out a snort of laughter as he ran his fingers over his buzzed hair " Don't act all innocent, you're just as sarcastic as I am." The most angelic smile formed on Niki's face " I'm not always sarcastic, sometimes I'm sleeping."

Stiles let out a chuckle as he leaned against the locker "Look, I just wanted to make sure you're okay, you know with the whole mountain lion thing, Jackson and Lydia…" his voice was serious as his brown eyes swirled with concern, pure genuine concern.

Niki's eyebrows knitted together, she thought Stiles had an innocent puppy crush on her; she didn't think he cared for her well being "Y-yeah I'm fine, anyways this is yours." Nikita grabbed a bright red hoodie out of her locker and passed it to Stiles. He looked pleasantly surprised to be reunited with his red hoodie he had leant to Niki on the night of her party "You keep it."

She had told herself she had only worn it that night, that was a lie, she had worn it several nights. "No, Stiles…it's yours."

Before Stiles could open his mouth to protest the devil the disguise, Mr. Harris stepped out of his class room "Stilinski! If I remember correctly you're supposed to be picking gum off the bottom of the tables…NOW!" Stiles let out a sigh of defeat as he hung his head in shame "Hey, I was wondering if you would come to the game tomorrow night? I'm actually going to be playing this time around."

"Stilinski! NOW!" Mr. Harris shouted down the hall.

Niki tapped her chin in thought, did she really want to see Jackson prancing about and Lydia cheering him on every three seconds? "Stiles…I don't think it's a good idea-"

She watched her words wound him, his sweet smile shattered to his feet, a pang of guilt resonated in her "On second thought." His head perked up as he looked at her , a slight expression of shock painted itself across his face "Yeah, why not? I'll go."

His eyes were as wide as saucers as his smile grew, he was in utter disbelief "Wait! Really?"

"Stilinski! I swear!" Mr. Harris' face was going red by this point.

"Go cyclones!" Niki gave a small fist pump in the air.

Stiles ran down the hall like a giddy child running to the gates of Disney land, leaving Nikita alone in the empty hall, she couldn't help but to smile a little as she closed her locker door. Scott appeared in the reflection of her locker mirror, startling her "Hey can we talk in privacy?"

Niki narrowed her eyes, a little skeptical to be talking to her friend's ex boyfriend "What's this about?"

Scott looked to her with his brown puppy eyes "I just, need your help on something." Niki couldn't say no to those puppy eyes. He lead her downstairs to Coach Finstock's empty office and locked the door behind them.

Niki sat on top of the desk "okay, did I do something wrong?" Her eyes narrowed on Scott. He looked furious, there was something off putting about him. The puppy eyes and innocent smile was gone, in its place was something darker. It was the way he was looking at her, with his dark eyes, like he was closing in on prey.

Next thing she knew both of his hands were pinned to the surface of the desk, trapping her.

"Scott, what the hell are you doing?" Her voice was shaking as she tried to press herself against the desk, trying to create space between them. This only seemed to amuse him "Why do you look so nervous?" An unsettling smile formed on his face as he gently brushed a strand of hair off of her face "I'm not going to hurt you." His fingers wrapped around her arms, holding her in a tight grip.

"Scott." Her voice full of warning.

In a blink of an eye his lips were pressed against hers, Niki's eyes shot wide open. She tried to pull away but it had only deepened the kiss. The second his grip loosened Niki broke away from the kiss, practically gasping for air. She pushed him away with the flat of her palm and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve, consequently smearing her lip gloss. Scott leaned against a wall next to the door, freedom was within her reach; but Scott was in the way. "C'mon Nikita, don't act like you didn't enjoy that."

Niki had talked to Scott only a handful of times, but this wasn't the Scott she knew.

She didn't bother to answer him as she walked to the door he was adamant on blocking. "Move, Scott."

He did no such thing "Not until you admit that you actually enj-" Scott didn't finish his sentence as Niki's fist hurled itself at his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. There was no denying Nikita's strength, as an athlete, and a third degree black belt she was stronger than most girls. Like a rock he hit the floor clutching his stomach. His mocking laughter grew louder and louder as she left the room, it rang in the halls…It rang in her ears.

"How am I supposed to tell Allison about this?"

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Walter's POV

"Alright we'll be in the back of the bleachers." Walter kissed his daughter's forehead, making her face blush a deep red "Dad, not here." She muttered under her breath as she walked away with Allison.

Melissa let out a laugh as her fingers laced with his "Teenagers."

Walter snorted in laughter "Teenagers? More like teenage girls." The two of them sat in the back row of the bleachers. Melissa rested her head on his shoulder "teenage girls are a breeze, but teenage boys? I can't tell you how many sticky sheets I've had to wash."

They both erupted in laughter, Walt looked over to his beautiful date; thankful he had found such a smart and funny woman. In a matter of seconds Walt's smile dropped, Chris and Kate Argent were walking up the bleachers towards them. Walter's eyes immediately narrowed on them, as if he were trying to burn holes into the hunters. "The thing about having a girl is…you're constantly trying to protect them."

The duo sat next to Walt "Hello, Walter." Chris greeted him with his cold grey eyes and calculating smile. Walter put on the fakest smile he could to mask any resentment "Chris…Kate." Kate's lips curled in the most devious manner "Is that your son?" she cocked her head to the field.

Melissa must have felt the tension as she was startled out of her daze "What!? Yes, yes that's him."

Walt watched as Scott ran to join the rest of his team mates "Please don't show off tonight." He thought to himself. Walter had been around werewolves for as long as he could remember, he understood their nature. Two of the most notorious hunters were sitting to his right, they weren't here for a game, they had a lead. Kate rested her chin on her hand "Walt, I thought I saw Nikita in the crowd, my has she grown." Her mocking tone and toothy grin was enough for Walter to throttle her.

Instead Walt got up and looked down at his date with an endearing smile "I'm going to go grab us some hot cocoa, it's pretty chilly today." Much to his dismay Chris got up as well "That sounds like a good idea, I'll grab some for Kate as well."

Walter gritted his teeth as he made his way down the bleachers, Chris right on his tail. The two of them decided it would be best to talk in the parking lot.

"What do you want Chris?" Walter's voice was monotone, devoid of any emotion. Chris Argent was no Mr. Rogers either "The werewolf Walt, who is the werewolf?" That was Chris Argent for you; the man was always straight to the point.

He only shrugged his shoulders "I don't know." Of course he knew, it was Melissa's teenage son "And if I did, I wouldn't tell you." his voice was dripping in venom. Of course he wasn't going to say a word, he wasn't going to let Argent massacre another family. Chris' face however remained still as calm water, that's what made Chris such a dangerous man, no one could predict what he would do next, no one could read his expressions. "Walter, I'm just trying to protect this town. You know we all live by a code."

The doctor snorted in laughter "The same code you had when you burned down the Hale house?" Finally Walter had cracked Chris' tough exterior "That wasn't us!" the hunter barked as he got in Walt's face.

But Walt knew this was all a front, Chris couldn't lay a hand on him "Just stay away from me, stay away from my daughter, and stay away from my girlfriend and her son!"

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Stiles' POV

"So you're telling me the call came from inside the hospital?" Derek was still in disbelief, desperately trying to put the puzzle together. Both Derek and Stiles were parked right outside the hospital, ready to crack the code. Stiles' would have loved nothing more than to be at the game, showing off for his father and Niki; and playing beside his best friend. But sacrifices had to be made; he had to find the Alpha.

"Do you need a little werewolf pocket translator? The Alpha called Allison from inside the hospital." Stiles gulped hard as Derek's gaze hardened. He tried to shrink his posture, making him a smaller target for Derek to punch. But the punch never came, instead the Beta grabbed Stiles' collar and pushed him out the open door "Hurry up." Derek hissed.

Stiles walked into the hospital, there were a few nurses on staff; but other than that it was awfully quiet. Where would he even start to look for an Alpha? It could be anyone.

In the corner of his eyes he saw a figure move and disappear to the stair well. It could have been anyone, but Stiles was always one to follow intuition, and his intuition was telling him to go downstairs. The floor was dark and barren; he swore he saw a tumbleweed blow across the room. The flickering lights gave proof as to some bad omen…He was in the right place.

The windy hallway seemed to be never ending. Each door had the names of burn victims plastered onto their doors. "Wait a sec…" he ran down the hall until he found the name he was looking for, the door opened to reveal an empty room. His shaky fingers found his cell phone, immediately calling Derek "Your uncle…he's not here."

There was a second's silence on Derek's end "Stiles, GET OUT NOW, MY UNCLE IS THE ALPHA!" Like a frantic animal Stiles began backing out of the room fast, Derek didn't need to tell him twice. He felt a pair of hands grip his shoulder, any tighter of a grip and he felt his shoulders would break.

"You shouldn't be here, now you can't leave." It was a female nurse "I was going to uh-"he stumbled over his words, it took him everything not to curl up in a ball and rock back and forth

"You're not going anywhere." Stiles looked up to see a man wearing a leather cloak. His face was riddled with scars and burns. Any movement of the lips tugged and pulled the scars in an unnatural manner.

"I beg to differ." Stiles turned around in time to see Derek punch the female nurse. He was now standing in between two blood thirsty werewolves .

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Niki's POV

Niki waited for Allison to join her on the bleachers, her stomach a bundle of nerves. Scott had apologized to her about what had happened the other day, but she had yet to tell Allison about the awkward situation. The doe eyed teenager joined Niki at the bleachers with a bag of popcorn "I can't believe you talked me into this." Allison wasn't happy to be at the game where she was forced to watch Scott, but Niki had told Stiles she would be there for his first game. She needed Allison's support if she had to watch Jackson prance around with the grace of a three legged bull and Lydia's irritating shrill nails on a chalk board cheering.

Luckily Lydia was in the front row, far from the two girls. "Why are we here again?" Niki didn't feel like answering the question, in fact she wasn't sure why she was here herself. She grabbed a fistful of popcorn and shoved it in her mouth to contemplate why she was here, and how she was going to tell Allison the truth. The game had started, and five minutes in Stiles was nowhere to be seen. "That's just great." Nikita thought to herself " This was all for nothing." Deep down she had hoped to see Stiles again, the feeling of disappointment was unsettling.

Sheriff Stilinksi took a seat next to the two girls "Nikita, surprised to see you here." The Sheriff was as confused as Allison, after all he did witness Jackson dumping her.

Allison leaned forward to get a glance at the Sheriff "That's what I said." Her eyebrows arched, Allison was starting to catch on. Niki let out an innocent laugh "Well you know me, I love school spirit."

"No you don't" Allison dead panned " You think the mascot is terrible as well." Allison was clearly onto something, the girl was like a hyena chewing on a carcass, completely relentless. It was true, having a cyclone as a mascot was pretty bad, with all the sexual innuendos like "BLOW them away."

The Sheriff looked at Niki like she was some sort of an alien specimen, once again Niki shoved a fistful of popcorn into her mouth to avoid conversation.

"Where is my son?" the Sheriff wondered out loud.

Allison's mouth hung slightly as she finally understood why Nikita had shown up to the game. Sheriff Stilinski left the two girls to go look for his son, leaving an amused Allison with Nikita.

The smile on Allison's face was one of triumph "So…You…Stiles?"

" Scott came onto me the other day, I…we kissed." Niki spat out, was she so desperate to cover her feelings for the pale lanky boy who knew how to make her smile?

Allison didn't say anything for a moment as she looked out across the field to where Scott was about to make the first goal, she got up and left.

* * *

Stiles' POV

Stiles fell to the floor as he ducked for cover, Peter effortlessly threw Derek across the room. The Alpha walked towards the two of them " I didn't mean for the blood lust…I didn't mean for Laura."

"You killed her!" Derek shouted as he tried to get up, but the floor beckoned him to fall down. Peter kicked Derek in the stomach "Will you listen? Stop sounding like an impudent teenager.'

Derek held his stomach where he had been kicked as blood dribbled out of his mouth and pooled on the floor. Peter crouched on the floor and lifted his nephews face "I'm doing this for us Derek, I'm going to hurt the Argent's the way they hurt us, starting with the youngest Argent."

Stiles mouth dropped open, he was talking about Allison.

Peter's sickly burnt skin transformed into matte, unscarred, perfect skin "I will make them suffer, I will make them bleed. With your help, with Scott's help…I will build my pack, I will be unstoppable."

**And the fun begins :] leave some love, let me know what you think!**


	12. The Plan

**Hi Everyone, thank you so much for the positive reviews. Thank you to: Brianna, Storyofsurvival, Emma, Royboy, Caspersix6six6, ZombieAssasinNinja, Kolowolfik, Vcarp1993, Thelatestbuzz, Artificialparadises, and the guests who are nice enough to leave reviews. You guys help inspire me with your reviews and honest opinions! I can't believe i'm a chapter away from the Winterformal chapter :O Please check out my tumblr for all things Niki Grace and my polyvore . Also the Winterformal dress is up on Polyvore as well ^_^**

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**I am the lion king - PAPA (A fun song for some Stiki moments) don't forget **** signifies where the song starts!**

Every muscle ached in his body, every inch of skin felt like it was on fire as Derek made his way back to his burnt down home. Any ounce of energy he had left escaped him, it had been a very long night. A small smile spread on his lips, a smile of a small victory; he had gained Peter's trust. Of course this meant looking like the bad guy to Scott. He couldn't let the Beta in on his plans, for Scott was niave as hell and couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Derek's plan was slowly falling into place, draw Peter close to him and kill him; avenging his sister and absorbing Alpha powers. Maybe when all the Alpha drama and Kate were gone he could stay in Beacon Hills. He had Walt, and maybe he could finally spend more time with Niki. Derek walked to the bottom of the stairs, the bouquet of sunflowers that Niki had left were dried and wilted. Even still they held a stark contrast to the inside of the barren home. The Beta sat on the last step and closed his eyes, only for a moment while he ran his plan through his head.

"You are such a creature of habit, you're just an animal looking for a home..Aren't you?" Derek's bright blue eyes shot open as soon as he heard Kate's maniacal voice. Before he could react any farther she tazed him right in the jugular. The numbness spread through his body faster than wild fire as he fell to his knees, Derek was hopeless and weak.

Kate circled her kill, he was an ant and she was the sadistic child holding a magnifying glass. Another jolt shot through the Beta's body as she shocked him between his shoulder blades. "You bitch." Derek managed to choke out as his vision began to blur.

"Honey, I've been called worse." Kate placed her finger under Derek's chin, lifting his head to meet his eyes "You know what they say… Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." With that she sent another wave of electric current through his body, this time right above his heart. Derek fell face first on the floor as his steel blue eyes faded.

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Scott's POV

Scott paced back and forth, never had he been so frantic in his life "What do we do Stiles, what do we do?" It was only a few hours ago when Peter and Derek had cornered him in the locker room. Scott's fingers ran through his dark hair, almost pulling at it in panic "Derek wants me to join him! Join Peter!"

Stiles was on his bedroom floor, panicking much like him. It felt like the ground beneath him was falling, nothing was going okay. "He'll turn you into a killer Scott." The beta placed both of his palms down on his dresser as he tried to steady his breathing, panicking was not helping him contain the beast within him "Are you sure he's going to go after Allison?" Scott held his breath as he waited for the answer.

Stiles replayed the events that occurred a few hours ago at the hospital over and over in his head "Yes."

Scott didn't understand why anybody would want to hurt Allison. She was simply stunning and the nicest girl he had ever met, she was no threat to Peter. "What about Jackson, Lydia and Niki?"

Stiles tapped the side of his head, as if he was waking up the gears in his brain "Honestly, I don't care for Jackson."

Scott turned around and gave his friend a death glare.

Stiles gulped loudly "If he wanted Lydia dead she would have been already. Same with Niki, they were both at the video store. Plus he would never hurt Niki, she's practically family to him."

"It didn't stop him from killing Laura." The Beta muttered under his breath as his nails slightly elongated, leaving a mark on the oak dresser.

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Stiles' POV

The next day Stiles and Scott raced down the school hall looking for Allison. The plan was for Scott to get on his knees and beg Allison to take him back, that way he could be by her side all night during Winter formal. "The plan will work, Scott, don't worry." Stiles was trying his best to instill some confidence in Scott. No matter how much of a brave face Scott tried to put on Stiles could see right through him. No one knew Scott better than Stiles, he could see the fear behind those dark brown eyes.

Jackson Whittemore, unwanted much like a pimple, stood before them with a cocky grin on his face "I want the bite." Both Scott and Stiles exchanged a glance, appalled by his idiocy.

Scott was on edge and Stiles was worried he would wolf out any second "Jackson, do you not understand that there are hunters out there?"

But the Jock was completely unfazed "I want to be as strong as you, I want to be as-"

Scott took another step forward "Jackson! I can't give you the bite." Jackson grabbed Scott by the collar and clenched his jaw so tight Stiles was certain his teeth would crack "I want to be the best again." Scott's eyes flashed a warm yellow, intimidating Jackson. The jock let go of Scott, the Beta kept walking down the hall in search for Allison, nothing was going to stop him.

Except for Coach Finstock who was waiting for them at the end of the hall "Scott!"

"Oh boy, what now." Stiles muttered to himself.

Coach had his hands on his hips as he looked to his star player with a sorry expression "McCall, you're flunking two of your classes." The beta ran his fingers through dark hair "I know, I'm sorry, I'll get a tutor or something, I just really need to find Allison right now."

"Save it McCall, it pains me as much as my hernia, but you're not going to the dance." Stiles bit down on his fist in frustration "Is there any way we can change your mind?"

Coach stared at Stiles, a little dumbfounded and confused at his presence "Bilinski? Weren't you supposed to be at the game last night?"

The two teenagers let out a groan of frustration, their plan was starting to fall apart.

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Niki's POV

She sat in her mini cooper just outside of Allison's home. The two of them had talked everything out, Niki explained that Scott was the one who made a move on her; yet she felt terrible. Niki started cleaning the passenger seat, clearing it up so Allison could sit. The leather bound sketchbook sat on top of a pile of homework. Niki flipped through the pages, most of them scratched with drawing of the red savage eyes she saw on the night of her attack. Mountain lions they said, every night those blood red eyes haunted her. But she told no one, she wore her fake smile of confidence very much the same way Jackson and Lydia wore theirs.

Nikita almost jumped out of her seat as her phone went off. It was a text from Allison telling her to come inside while she gets ready. Her knuckles rapped on the white oak door, to her surprise a blonde woman answered the door. Her dark honey curls swept past her shoulder, arched eyebrows caused her eyes to look even more mincing. But it was her smile that made Nikita feel uneasy, like the woman was aware of some secret "You must be Nikita, come in, Allison is still getting ready."

It must have been intuition, or the fact Kate was looking Niki up and down in distaste, but the teenager knew she didn't like this woman "Thanks." Niki walked into the living room where Kate sat down, cocking her head to a seat across from her; Niki kindly sat down.

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Derek's POV

The metal shackles had rubbed his wrists raw as a trickle of fresh blood rolled down his forearm. As soon as Derek was on the right track his past had to come back and bite him in the ass. He was below the Argent house, he knew, and any chance of escape was impossible. Another excruiciating wave of electricity spread throughout his body. Keeping him extremely weak, but alive in his wolf state.

Derek's head shot up as soon as he picked up the scent of jasmine, a scent he was all too familiar with "No." he whispered through dry cracked lips. His ears picked up exactly what was going on upstairs, he could hear Kate's irritating voice "You must be Nikita, come in, Allison's getting ready."

Kate was the kind of smug sadistic psycho who would reveal Nikita to the world of the supernatural, just like she did with Allison this morning. She would unveil his secret that he, his family, and Walt had hid from Niki for years. Franticly he began to thrash about, trying to free himself, not paying any mind to the cold metal cuffs biting into his skin.

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Niki's POV

She wanted to be anywhere but here, her foot tapped impatiently on the wooden floor. Kate was sweet and charming, yet Niki was still irked by her. Things started with simple questions, like school, boys, and shopping; then the topic shifted.

"So I heard you were involved in an animal attack." It wasn't a question, more like a statement.

Niki cleared her throat, she was only going to talk about this once "Yeah, me and two others."

Kate's hands shot out and grabbed Nikita's right arm, almost examining it, Niki tried to pull away, but huntress had a firm grip on her. She examined the skin "No bites or scratches?" The teenager recoiled her hand as her eyebrows furrowed into a frown "No." Kate grabbed at the necklace around Niki's neck and held the silver heart between her thumb and index finger, reading the initials "I knew a girl with a similar necklace like this."

She was fed up with Kate, Niki had enough "Where can I find the bathroom?" Kate's fake smile was back on "down the hall, second door to your left." Her voice coated in honey, like that attracted the flies. Niki walked down the hall, braiding her hair, something she did when she felt nervous. Even a blind man could tell Kate was trouble, and Niki didn't feel the need to be near her. She had found the bathroom alright, but it was the door with the double dead bolt lock that intriguied her. They often said curiosity killed the cat, but Niki was a firm believer that satisfaction brought it back. Her hand wrapped around the chrome handle, just a peek was all she wanted. "Kate probably keeps all of her ex-boyfriends down here." Niki snorted to herself as she pulled the door open. The door slam shut with a thud as Niki let out a yelp. Kate pinned her palm against the door, trapping Niki "close, but no cigar." The huntress locked eyes with Niki, trying to use staring as a fear tactic. But it did absolutely nothing to Niki, she was tougher than she looked.

"I guess that's not where the bathroom is." Niki used her most innocent voice, mocking Kate's fake demeanor.

"Niki?" Allison's voice caught both of their attentions as they turned to see she was at the end of the hall "Let's go already." Niki moved Kate's arm out of the way, the same arrogant smile plastered on her face "I would say it was nice meeting you, but why lie?" with that she walked away.

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***The two girls entered the mall and headed right to Macy's in search for their dresses. Niki looked over to Allison who was busy texting on her phone, they waited on the escalator "So, you're still set on going to Winter Formal by yourself?"

The doe eyed girl shrugged her shoulders "It's not bad, I hope you're not too excited about going to Winter Formal with Jonesy."

Niki's eyes narrowed on her friend "What are you talking about, Argent?"

"I already called Jonesy and explained to him your punishment, he seemed relieved with not going." The girls reached the top of the escalator, Stiles was at the perfume counter with the widest grin on his face.

Niki's jaw dropped to the floor "HIM?" she whispered loudly to Allison, the young Argent patted her on the back "Say hello to your new Winter Formal date, make the best of it."

Stiles ran up to her with the biggest smile on his face, Niki took a few steps back in fear he might crash into her "Hey Niki, I know this is last minute, and I'm really sorry if this isn't what you want, I'm not as popular as Jonesy, or as handsome…or as talented. But I can do the robot, and I promise to be a gentleman and-." He was starting to ramble on, Niki could hardly keep up with what he was saying. She grabbed his collar and pulled him close "You'll do just fine."

An hour later Stiles was struggling with holding onto the pile of dresses Niki had handed him. She was in the dressing room as he stood right outside, with the honorable duty of handing her dresses.

"So why so many dresses?" his voice came from the other side of the door as Niki zipped up and dress and checked herself out in the mirror "Because, I want to look pretty."

Stiles went silent for a moment, as if he was lost in thought as he passed her the next dress over the door "But you are pretty, really pretty." The shy brunette pressed her ear against the cold door and listened to his voice " beautiful in fact, honestly."

Niki bit on her bottom lip as her dimple surfaced to her right cheek "And I guess your personality isn't THAT bad." He added.

Niki let out a laugh as she zipped up another dress "Hey!" she teasingly shouted. His laughter came from the other side, and for some reason Niki found it to be infectious as she began laughing as well. But the laughter stopped as soon as she looked at the dress in the mirror's reflection. It looked perfect, something she normally wouldn't wear. It was a blush pink sweetheart dress with sheer lace overlay; something about it made her feel delicate.

Niki twirled in the dress and let it flutter around her."I found it!" Her voice giddy, she was actually excited to go to formal with Stiles.

"A dress? Let me see!" he sounded just as excited as her. "Nope!" Niki popped the P, a sly smile tugged at the corner of her lips "You can't see it until tomorrow night. Now go face a corner and close your eyes, I want to show Allison."

"Fine." Stiles muttered under his breath.

Niki slowly opened the dressing room door a crack to see Stiles was in fact facing the wall with his eyes closed as he whistled a cheery tune. The brunette slipped past the door and walked out to the dress section in search of Allison. Her eyes landed on her friend immediately, but Allison seemed to be talking to a man. Niki couldn't tell who the man was, his back was towards her. The stranger was clad in a black leather cloak and dark greased back hair. Judging by the expression on Allison's face she looked mighty uncomfortable. Something about the stranger felt familiar, Niki started walking towards him, drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

She reached her hand out, eager to grab his shoulder and turn him around, his voice comforting like an age old lullaby. Before her fingertips could even graze his leather jacket he walked away, leaving Niki somewhat disappointed and Allison confused.

Niki watched him disappear down the escalator, not once did he turn around "Who was that?" Allison shook her head 'I have no clue, he was just rambling on about my skin complexion."

Both teenagers scrunched their faces in disgust "Ew, leather face much?" Allison shook her head as she let out a laugh "Niki, that dress is perfect for you." Niki held the bottom hem of her dress as she did a curtsey.

Silently Niki slipped back in to the dressing room, making sure Stiles didn't hear a single sound. His head was pressed against the wall at this point, exhausted, waiting for Niki. Like an agile fox Nikita tiptoed out of the room wearing her own clothes and trying hard to contain her laughter.

After paying for her dress she and Allison headed out to the parking lot. They both fell silent as soon as they sat in the car. Allison looked to her friend with worry "Why do you hide your feelings for Stiles?"

The blunt question almost caused Niki to choke on her own spit "W-What?"

She had no time to think of crushes or crush on anyone…Not after the way Jackson had treated her.

"You like him Niki, I see the way he looks at you, I see the way you tease him."

Of course she knew the way he looked at her was the way most women wanted to be looked at. The night of her party in particular, she remembered bits and pieces. But she remembered the way he looked at her, took care of her, and gave his hoodie to her. The hoodie that she had only given back a day ago, that thing provided her comfort with the smell of Stiles' cologne lingering on it.

Niki opened her mouth to protest, but Allison was relentless "Look, you're no longer friends with Lydia, you don't need to follow her rules of the social pyramid."

She was finally able to get a word in "He's not my type." Or so she kept telling herself even though he ran through her mind constantly.

"You're not into the kind of guy who would always stay loyal to you? love you passionately, and make you the center of his world?"

He truly was loyal and kind. For a second she was taken back to the night where they talked about their mothers, Niki had never told anyone about her sorrows, not even her own father.

Niki cringed at Allison's words, everything she said was true.

"You see right through me, Allison Argent." Her voice dripping with sarcasm, her only defense.

Allison rolled her eyes "And sadly you two share the same humor…by the way where is Stiles?" Niki drove out of the parking lot with a smug grin on her face, a sparkle of amusement glimmered in her olive eyes, cleverly hidden under her Ray Ban sunglasses "I told him to close his eyes and wait for me, so he wouldn't see the dress."

Allison's eyebrow jerked up "And?"

"And…I sort of left him there."

Allison playfully slapped her friend's arm "Niki!"

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He had lived in solitude and darkness for the past six years, waiting in the shadows was nothing to him. Peter's tongue grazed over the tip of his sharp canines, even drawing some blood. He relished the flavor, for soon he would be tasting Kate's blood.

A slightest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips as the back of his hand softly stroked his own face, it felt good to feel again. The Mini Cooper drove off, Peter watched the car disappear.

His plan was falling in place, and no one could stop him, not even that intrepid fool Scott McCall.

Allison Argent, the Argent legacy, how Kate and Chris would hate to lose her. As vengeful as Peter was, he was still a just man. His heart sank for a moment, he had been watching Nikita while he had been spying on Allison. He thought back to when she was a little pot bellied child in pig tails, now she was a teenager running cross country and earning her third degree black belt "My my, how much you've grown; Nikita Grace." Peter's eyes flashed a savage red as he disappeared into darkness.

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**Done with the chapter! Can't wait, the next three chapters are my favorites ^_^ as an added bonus, here's the dress shopping excerpt from my original Nikita Grace story, so you can compare.**

"Stiles I found the right dress, but you can't see it."

Stiles raised his eyes brows "Why not?"

Niki bit the bottom of her lip, giving him a coy smile, the dimple Stiles loved so much appearing "I want you to wait until the dance! I'm going to get dressed, you turn around; and I'll run to the cash register." "I'll get you when I'm done purchasing it."

Stiles chuckled, running his fingers through his short hair "alright sounds good to me"

As soon as she got dressed Niki bolted out of the room holding onto the dress, Stiles was facing the wall humming to himself.

Niki got to the cash register; she felt uneasy…where was Allison?

Nikki panned around the room to see Allison talking to a tall man in a leather jacket; Niki could only see him from the back. Allison looked extremely uncomfortable, Niki walked towards him. Before she could reach him he walked to the escalators, never to be seen again.

"Uhh Allison?" Niki waved her hand in front of Allison's face.

She snapped out of her trance like state "I have no clue who he was, he kept talking about skin complexion...my skin complexion.""Can we please get out of here?"

"Yeah I'll buy this now before leatherface comes back."

The two girls made it to Allison's care with shopping bags in hand, Allison still felt paranoid, looking back over her shoulder every other second. Niki didn't feel right either, something was wrong, something was off.

"Shit Allison! I totally left Stiles in the dressing room!"


	13. Flightless Bird

**Here it is, part one of the winterformal chapter :D Thank you to all of you who left me a review for the last chapter, your support means so much to me. So I only pick songs for chapters that are really important. This song is super SUPER important for this chapter. I took the effort to time it to the chapter, of course some may read faster than others so it's different for everyone. I suggest you read it slowwww.**

**But I ask you play this song where it's indicated (***) It's a whole new experience :] Well, enjoy!**

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**Flightless Bird, American Mouth – Iron and Wine**

Stress didn't even come close to explaining what Scott was feeling at the moment. The tightness in his chest felt like an iron grip on his lungs. Peter Hale had painted a red target on Allison, and Derek had gone missing again. Stiles and Scott walked into the locker room after lacrosse practice. They both approached Jackson and asked him to watch over Allison tonight at the dance, although he promised; it wasn't good enough.

He looked to Stiles, the mastermind behind all the ideas. If anyone could come up with a solution it would be Stiles. But his best friend was busy staring at a shirtless Jonesy as he changed into clean clothes. Scott's brow raised high, almost to his hairline as he looked between Stiles and Jonesy. Was this some sort of assertive alpha male thing over Nikita? Or was Stiles starting to bat for the other team; maybe his frustrations with Jonesy were purely sexual.

Jonesy was busy folding his uniform into his locker to notice Stiles' stares. Scott elbowed his best friend in the rib "dude, now's not the time to make life altering choices about your sexuality."

"Scott, do you not see that body? I swear Jonesy was born with a six pack."

The Beta gingerly placed his hand on Stiles' shoulder "Stiles, I support you, no matter what, but can we just focus right-"

Stiles rolled his eyes as he exhaled sharply "Scott, he can protect Allison."

Realization hit him square in the face like a brick, his best friend was right. Stiles casually walked to the wrestler and leaned against the locker "Hey there, Jonesy. What are you up to Friday night?"

Jonesy snaked his fingers through his dark brown hair, completely caught off guard that Stiles was actually talking to him "Uh, practicing with my band?"

Stiles tried to play it cool as he looked at the back of his nails "Well I was thinking, you should go to Winter Formal, wouldn't that be fun?"

Jonesy closed his locker and looked Stiles up and down "Sorry, you're not my type Stiles, I sort of enjoy girls. Plus I thought you hated me…" Stiles let out a snort of laughter "Hate you? what? You're like a little handsome ray of sunshine!" Although Stiles wore a smile his little fists were curled tight.

Scott literally face palmed himself "Not with Stiles, with Allison." There was a moment of silence as Jonesy tried to process Scott's words, his face scrunched in confusion "Your ex girlfriend? That's awkward. I just got out of going to the dance, not sure why I would volunteer again."

A rush of adrenaline and anger swept over Scott. In a blink of an eye he had Jonesy's shirt scrunched in his vice grip as he pushed Jonesy against the locker "I really think you should take Allison to the dance." Scott practically growled.

Stiles' jaw nearly hit the ground when he saw his friend's animal side break to the surface. Scott was the friendliest person he knew, next to Jonesy of course. His jaw opened wider when he saw how easily Jonesy peeled Scott's hand off, Scott was surprised himself. Jonesy's face was devoid of any emotion, making it impossible to read him. "And why should I take her?"

Stiles had to think fast before Scott lashed out. Stormy grey eyes faded to crystal blue as Jonesy stared at an image of Allison on Scott's phone.

Stiles took in a deep breath and hoped he could rely on Jonesy's kind hearted reputation "Scott here messed up terribly." Scott scrunched his face in confusion as he looked to Stiles. "He broke Allison's heart and now she's going to Winter formal all by herself." Jonesy however remained unmoved.

"She's going to look foolish going by herself when all her friends have dates." Stiles pointed out "and seeing how you're pretty popular, maybe you can help her out." A small grin appeared on Jonesy's face.

"That's right, feed their ego, and they are bound to say yes." Stiles thought to himself.

Jonesy let out a sigh as he headed for the door "I'll pick her up at seven."

* * *

Stiles' POV

Stiles tapped his finger against the steering wheel; he was filled to the brim with nerves. It wasn't about Peter Hale…Hell there was no way he was going to attack Allison in a gym full of students. It was Niki, he was actually going to the dance with Nikita Grace. Never had he imagined he would have a chance with a girl as beautiful, popular and funny as Nikita Grace. He couldn't help but to smile, the excitement was making a nervous tight bundle in his stomach. His powder blue jeep pulled up to a parking spot in front of the school. Stiles checked himself out in the driver's side mirror, making sure everything was in place.

He and Nikita agreed to take separate cars, as he was busy running "errands." The corners of his lips tugged upwards as he spotted his best friend on the roof of the school, it made him feel more at ease knowing Scott was here.

Stepping out of the jeep he tightened the tie around his neck. There was magic in the air as everyone was in the best spirits, and Stiles couldn't help but to feel that excitement; tonight was going to be perfect. He approached the front of the school.

There she was, standing at the top of the stairs like some ethereal angel. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs to admire her; he couldn't help but to take it all in. She was wearing a light pink dress, her brown hair in elegant loose curls, her makeup soft and shimmery. She wore nude high heels making her legs look miles and miles long. The lights behind her gave a heavenly glow, so soft, so delicate; as if a touch could shatter her. He always thought her to be beautiful, but now her beauty was captivating, so much that he didn't want to take his eyes off of her. She had spotted him and covered her mouth to hide her giggles, he must have looked like an idiot just gawking at her. Stiles ran up the steps, almost tripping on his feet.

"Y-You look beautiful." Stiles stumbled over his words, but she didn't seem to mind. Her smile grew, the single dimple he loved so much emerged "Thanks Stiles, you look handsome." Her hands straightened his tie for him, for a moment they locked eyes.

Stiles cleared his throat "I got you something, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to." He pulled out a white orchid corsage and slipped it on her wrist "It's beautiful." Her voice was breathless and genuine. But her smile fell all too soon when Lydia and Jackson walked up the steps, hand in hand. Niki straightened her posture and cleared her throat "You look good, Jackson."

Stiles looked to her, almost proud of her. She was waving the white flag, making truce. But Jackson wasn't one to forgive so quickly "Yeah, It's Tom Ford." With that he walked past her, bumping into her shoulder. But Niki was always full of poise and grace, it was after all her last name.

Lydia however stayed behind, she wasn't one to forgive easily either; especially after being humiliated in front of the school by Niki. "That's adorable Niki, what's it like to go to the dance with the boy who's had a crush on me since the third grade?" Stiles cringed; he saw the look of hurt on Niki's face.

People had gathered around the front of the school at this point, they were ready for another gossip worthy moment.

Niki stood strong, holding her own "I don't know Lydia, what's it like to date my sloppy seconds?" a sheepish smile found its way on his face, one small victory for Nikita "Damn, she's good." Stiles thought to himself.

Lydia let out a mocking laugh "Sloppy seconds? We all know you didn't sleep with him…Virgin." Niki quickly looked down in embarrassment as students around her began to whisper, she was aware that all eyes were on her. "By tomorrow the whole school will know." Lydia's mocking voice angered Stiles, he didn't understand why girls were so cruel to one another. Although he was frustrated a small part of him was happy that Niki never slept with Jackson. Lydia flipped her hair and walked towards the entrance of the school "Enjoy your fall from grace, Nikita. You'll have fun at the bottom of the pyramid."

Completely unaware Stiles slid his hand in Niki's, it must have given her a small burst of confidence "Hey, Lydia." Niki shouted, the queen bee stopped in her tracks just before entering the school "How's your pill addiction going?" This caused several gasps amongst the students, Stiles couldn't help but to chime in as well "Pretty sure you shut down the pharmacy with your Vicadin orders." Lydia let out a scoff as she pushed open the double doors and disappeared inside.

Both Niki and Stiles let out a burst of laughter, for they had one small victory together. She looked to him with a sad sorry smile "Thank you for sticking up for me." Before Stiles could say anything she looked down to see they were holding hands, her strong brows knitted together in confusion. "Im-I'm sorry." Stiles replied fast as he tried to pull his hand away, but she grabbed it "No, it's fine." Stiles' mouth hung open like a fish out of water, she was okay with holding his hand…In public.

* * *

The gym was packed with teens and body heat, the music shook the floorboards beneath them, and vibrated all throughout Stiles' body. Niki held his hand the entire time, pulling him to the dance floor. He wasn't one to dance, but if that was what made her happy then Stiles would gladly look like a fool for her. Jonesy and Allison were next to them dancing, Allison looked adorable in her blue dress, and Jonesy as always looked like he stepped out of a GQ photo shoot. Stiles let out a sigh of relief, as everything was going smoothly. They danced for what felt like hours, neither of them tiring out. Stiles was so lost in the moment he didn't even realize the grand entrance Scott had made. They were having fun until Niki noticed Lydia and Jackson making out, he could see the hurt in her olive eyes as her brows furrowed. Even though she couldn't stand Jackson and Lydia, they were her once best friends. Niki excused herself as she left the dance floor, Stiles followed her like a lost puppy, sad he couldn't cheer her up.

They both sat at a table, while Niki burned a hole in Jackson as he walked out of the gym. Jonesy showed up with three drinks in hand "Hey there lovebirds." Stiles felt an immediate blush surface to his cheeks "I brought you guys some drinks." He sat besides Niki and handed her a cup of punch. Pure bitterness danced on the tip of Stiles' tongue as he took a sip of the drink, his face scrunched, he was not expecting the punch to be spiked. Niki however downed her cup in seconds, both Stiles and Jonesy exchanged glances. Stiles pushed his cup away, he preferred to keep his wits sharp, especially tonight.

Jonesy rolled up his sleeves "alright, I'm out of here, Allison's lover is here and I'm a free man." Stiles nodded and thanked Jonesy for his help, he lowered himself to Stiles' level "You be good to her Stiles and watch after her, she's an amazing girl." He cocked his head towards Niki who was watching Scott and Allison on the dance floor. Jonesy patted Stiles' back and made his leave.

The DJ put on a slow love song.

**** Niki almost shot out of her seat "I love this song!" her hand placed over her heart. Being the gentleman his father taught him to be Stiles got out of his seat and extended his hand out to Niki, her small delicate hand rested on his as he pulled her up. They walked to the dance floor hand in hand. Stiles was great at improvising and pretending, just like his dancing; but he truly didn't know what to do.

He looked over to Scott who mouthed the words "like this" As he placed his arms around Allison's waist. Stiles copied what his best friend did, his arms wrapped around Niki's slim waist and pulled her in close. She rested her head against his chest, her head fitting perfectly under his chin. Stiles couldn't help but to smile, Scott was smiling as well, proud of his best friend. Stiles pulled her in even tighter as he closed his eyes and rocked steadily back and forth to the beat of the song. Dancing wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, surprisingly everything came naturally.

Everything about this moment felt right, every little detail was perfect; from the blue lights shining on them, to the white confetti snowflakes descending down on them. The Jasmine scent of her hair made his heart sing, instantly making him feel warm inside. Her slow breathing took the weight of the world off his shoulders, only for a moment he was able to forget about Kate Argent, Derek and Peter Hale. He couldn't help but to think of the first time he saw her, in her red high tops, how terribly he had misjudged her then . All the hours they spent together working on their project, how they had opened up about their mothers. He had never talked about his mother or what caused her death to anyone.

His heart fluttered like the wings of a butterfly when he thought of how he accidently burned her knee, he wanted to kiss her terribly that time. Stiles inhaled her jasmine scented hair once more, it was such a comforting smell. The first time he smelled it was the night of her party, when she tripped and he had caught her. She had rested her head on his chest; much like she was doing now. Stiles remembered the night she was attacked, his smile was no more as he thought of how badly he wanted to protect her, hold her, never let her go. He wasn't crushing on Nikita, he was falling for her hard, falling madly deeply. She had a hold on him, and he didn't mind at all.

Stiles' brow hitched up as he could feel her smiling against his chest, he pulled away from her "What's so funny?" She looked up as the confetti fell freely from the ceiling, tickling her nose; boy did she look adorable.

Niki bit her lip and looked at him with a coy smile "I could hear your heart beating, fast."

This was his moment, and he wasn't going to mess it up. Stiles leaned in close, the tips of their noses were just barely touching….She didn't pull away. His lips teasingly brushed against hers, but Stiles was too scared to go in all the way.

"You coward!" Stiles thought to himself. But he had never kissed a girl before, unless he counted his cousin Gertrude when they were kids; what if she could tell? Stiles' eyes shot open as her lips pressed against his. He immediately pulled back, completely shocked, did she really just make the move?

She looked just as terrified as him, but Stiles wasn't going to let this go. Confidence shot through him like a geyser as he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her fingers ran through his buzzed hair. Stiles was lost in euphoria, never wanting this moment to end. This time she was the one to pull away . Stiles stroked the side of her cheek, her fair skin felt like silk. Nikita closed her eyes and held his hand against her cheek with both of her hands. It was a beautiful sight as they both relished the moment, Stiles couldn't help but to smile. When she opened her eyes she looked concerned, almost sad….This was not good.

He squeezed her hands, showing genuine concern "What's wrong?"

Nikita shook her head "I can't." she whispered as she backed away from him, he reached out and grabbed her hand. But she pulled her hand away, frantic like a deer "I-I'm sorry…I just…I just need some fresh air."

His hand fell to his side, somehow he had managed to screw up royally. Everyone around him was still dancing, lost in the melody of a love song. A moment ago he was the luckiest man in the gym, she didn't bother to turn around and look at him as she ran off the dance floor.

He watched his dream girl disappear.

* * *

**Let me know what you think, and let me know if you gave the song a try. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, it was a lot of fun to write :]**


	14. Flightless Bird Fall from Grace

**Hey everyone, my last chapter didn't do so hot. Lots of readers, but little reviews :[ So if you could provide some feedback that would be great, or i'll just shrivel up in a ball and just chill in the corner . The first time i wrote this chapter was back in June WOW! It was the easiest chapter for me to write, this time around it was terribly difficult. I racked my brain trying to get this chapter right, and I admit it's still not to my liking :-\ I was lucky to have a few writers look over this and give me their suggestions, thank you guys. This is yet another chapter where it was timed to the selected song. I'm a slow reader most of you are fast, so it's up to you to get the timing right. But if you do, it's pretty magical :]**

* * *

**Sacrilege – Yeah Yeah Yeahs**

Stiles stood alone in the center of the dance floor, time had stood still as he watched the girl of his dreams run from him. Everyone around him was happy, holding their loved ones close. The heartbroken teenager stuffed his hands in his pockets. As his head hung low in shame he walked to the table, barely picking his feet off the ground. Scott and Allison were giggling as they ran off the dance floor hand in hand. Stiles was happy for his best friend, but watching the two of them was making him feel annoyed.

A hand grabbed him before he made it to his seat, nails dug into his biceps; it was Lydia "Where did he go Stiles? All I wanted was one slow dance!" she was irritated over Jackson slipping out of the dance. He pulled his arm away, out of her grip in annoyance "I don't know Lydia, nor do I care; knowing him he's probably under the lacrosse bleachers getting drunk." His answer didn't seem to please her as she gave him the dirtiest glare and made her leave.

But really Stiles didn't care, he had his own troubles to worry about. He took a seat next to Danny and his date Theo. Stiles looked to Danny "Do you find me attractive?" he needed some sort of confidence booster, he was sure he could find it in good old Danny.

Lo and behold Danny scrunched his nose in distaste "Sorry Stiles, you're not my type." Theo however leaned in "You're defiantly my type." It still didn't make him feel any better. Danny looked to his fallen friend "I saw the whole thing." Stiles sat up straight, he was defiantly talking about the kiss; Danny nodded in understanding.

"Why did you let her leave, Stiles?"

"Wh-what are you talking about?"

Danny's smile grew " I know everything about everyone Stiles, and she's my best friend. I see the way she looks at you, she never looked at Jackson that way."

Stiles shot out of his seat like a rocket "Danny, don't joke around right now."

Danny only let out a chuckle "Stiles….There is something there." Theo started bouncing up and down in his seat, all giddy like a child "Oh I love romantic shit so much, go chase her Cassanova!" Stiles didn't need to be told twice as he ran out of the gym to find her.

* * *

Niki's POV

She took the back door out, where she could be left alone with her thoughts. A gaggle of drunken teenagers walked out, one grabbed a lunch bench and threw up. He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve, as soon as he spotted Niki he burst out in laughter "Hey, you're the girl Jackson dumped, that was tragic." He burst into a howling laughter, joined by his friends.

Niki gritted her teeth and began to walk away, flicking them off as she walked further and further from her campus. There was one place where she could be left alone, think in solitude, the preserves. She immersed herself deep in the woods. She went far enough to stray away from the music, from the annoying classmates. Her nude heels sunk into the wet earth with every step, she could care less for her heels. A mossy tree provided her something to lean on as she began to process her thoughts.

Stiles had kissed her, she had kissed him…She enjoyed every second of it. Her finger traced her lips where his were only moments ago. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving him like that, but she had panicked. Stiles was the first person to give her attention since Jackson. She didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't completely over Jackson. After being dumped out of the blue she still needed closure, a small part of her wanted to know what she did wrong.

It wouldn't have been fair to Stiles if she was still hung up on Jackson. But Allison was right, Stiles was fiercly loyal, and a genuine guy. Niki closed her eyes and replayed the kiss over and over in her head, her smile growing by the second. Jackson had never kissed her the way Stiles did, with so much want and passion. When Jackson held her she felt happy, but when Stiles held her she felt safe, relaxed…And even loved.

That word, she had never used it before except for with her mom. The idea of a boy loving her scared her, what if she could never return those feelings? But when she thought of his friendly brown eyes it made her heart flutter; Niki was smiling like a fool "He loves me." She whispered into the cold night air, it felt great to be loved.

"Who loves you!?" Niki jumped as she let out a yelp, Jackson had his hand against the tree, pinning her to the bark. Leave it to Jackson to ruin a defining moment, he always knew when he was wanted.

"Why are you outside!?" Niki barked at him. Jackson gave her an incredulous look as his lips curled up "I'm sorry, is this preserve part of your property?" his shaky hands lifted a round silver flask to his lips, he seemed scared.

"Does Lydia know you're out here drinking?" Niki used a softer tone, maybe she could ask him to leave nicely.

Jackson let out a snort of laughter "You think I care?" An awkward silence fell between the two of them, a friendly smile appeared on his lips as his hand stroked a strand of hair off her face. She was not going down this road again "Well it was nice talking to you, but I prefer to be alone." To her surprise he didn't lash out with a bruised ego "That's fine, but you should go inside, it's really cold out."

"Jackson, I would rather freeze my tits off than go back inside with you." Her words were bitter on her own tongue, but the look on Jackson's face was well worth it. He clenched his jaw, trying his best to come up with an insult. To her surprise he shoved his flask in Niki's hand "Fine, drink this to keep you warm." With that he was gone. "I think I will!" Nikita shouted over her shoulder as Jackson disappeared towards the school. The metal cap was twisted off as Niki let the lukewarm liquor trickle down her throat. The Tequila burned her throat and warmed her belly, she was going to need some liquid courage if she was going to go back inside and apologize to Stiles. Niki took another swig, she wanted to feel relaxed…Not dull her senses. "Suck it Jackson!" she shouted as she threw the flask as far as she could.

"I should go." She thought to herself, she had promised both Derek and Walt she wouldn't wander into the preserves. "I'm going to march right in there, apologize to him, and kiss him as much as I want." For a moment she allowed herself to embrace nature, it had been so long since she had been in the preserves. It was eerie and dark, the only sound heard was the orchestral chirping of crickets accompanied by curious owls. Most people would be scared of the preserves, especially at night. But this was comforting to Nikita, this was hers and Cora's playground. The scent of Pines and moss filled her senses, a scent tied strongly to her childhood memories.

The sudden sound of twigs snapping made her body stiffen "Jackson, leave me alone."

But it wasn't Jackson as a faint low growl was heard. Immediately Niki's eyes shot wide open as both her hands covered her mouth from screaming. She knew that growl, she had heard it before…The night of the video store. Niki shook her head, this wasn't possible "They told me that thing died, they told me it died in the school parking lot." The growl came closer; this was actually happening.

Slowly and silently Niki reached down to take her heels off, her only chance of survival was to outrun the beast. The creature had come from behind, from the direction of the school; she could either run to the main road where she was bound to see people, or run to the Hale house from here.

Niki bolted.

* * *

Stiles' POV

Stiles poked his head outside to the front entrance of the school, a group of girls were taking selfies "hey, any of you seen Nikita Grace?" her name was well known enough for people at their school. But none of them had seen her. Stiles ran to the parking lot to see her mini cooper was still there "So she's still here."

He scoured every corner of the school, the one place he hadn't checked was the girls bathroom. Stiles waited patiently outside the door as gaggles of girls entered and exited the bathroom. Stiles' head perked up when he saw Jackson.

"Where did you go!?" Jackson looked pale as he avoided the question, something was very wrong.

"I-I saw Chris Argent out there."

This was beyond terrible "Have you seen Niki?"

Jackson nodded "She's outside, have you seen Lydia?"

Stiles' brow hitched up "I told her you were probably drinking under the lacrosse bleachers…Where exactly did you see Niki?"

Jackson ran his fingers through his blonde hair, trying to ease his nerves "In the preserves, she's on her way back here."

Stiles backed away slowly, his eyes went wild with fear as he finally understood what was happening, Peter was playing them….Allison was just the decoy.

* * *

Niki's POV

***She raced through the woods running as fast as her strong track legs let her; if she had not been so athletic she would have tired out by now. Gritting her teeth she ignored the feeling of sharp twigs and jagged stones tearing the bottom of her bare feet. The creature was chasing her farther and farther into the woods, but not once did Niki look back, if she looked back she would meet her certain death. The deeper she ran in the woods the darker it became, only a sliver of moonlight to guide her.

The thick fog wrapped itself around her like a silken cloak, skewing her vision and senses. Niki sped up as fast she could, giving it all of her strength. If she was going to survive she had to outsmart the dull blood thirsty creature. She hid behind a tree as the creature ran past her, clearly missing its mark.

Niki let a sigh of relief desperately trying to control her rapid beating heart. She had to find the Hale home, and pray and hope that Derek would somehow be there. She began to run west, in the direction of his house, she would be there in a few minutes. The creature leapt off a rock and landed in the shadows in front of her. Niki let out a blood curdling scream as her feet scurried away, forcing her to run in the opposite direction she intended. The shadowed beast was toying with her as she was given a head start, running towards her impending doom.

Once again the animal was after her. Niki's lungs felt ablaze, face numb and windswept from the cold, feet stinging like they were running on lumps of ignited coal. Tears streamed down her face as soon as she realized she was slowing down, this was a battle that could not be won.

Her clumsy feet could hardly keep up the pace as a stray root caught her ankle and beckoned her to the floor; the solider had fallen. Niki scooted backwards as fast as she could, her strength had abandoned her as she tried to get up, but gravity kept fighting back. Her hand slipped off the edge of the world, she looked behind to see she was on the edge of suicide hill. The drop was large, people who had jumped before either died on impact or lead their lives in wheelchairs.

The beast had outsmarted her, she was trapped as it started to close in on her. Niki's finger wrapped around her silver necklace, looking for some sort of solace, some sort of courage.

A thread of courage pulled her up on shaky jelly knees and picked up a rather large branch. With all the force she had left the branch cracked on the top of her knee, split in two. The courageous teenager held the branch in her hand like a makeshift spear, if she was going to die, she would go out in a blaze of glory.

"C'mon!" Niki screamed provoking the beast veiled in the shadows "You coward!"

It slowly emerged out of the shadows and let the moonlight wash over its hideous form. Niki let out a shrill earth shattering scream, it was some grotesque looking monster, like a mutated wolf. Its blood red savage eyes locked on her as it came closer, Niki backed up as far as she could, the back of her feet hanging over the edge of the hill. Tears streamed down her face as her shaky hands held the spear and jabbed the air a few times.

It did nothing to scare the beast, the creature leapt forward and stood on its back legs. Niki's throat was raw, the scream stuck in the back of her throat trying to claw its way out.

The beast opened its mouth wide with a roar, its razor sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight. It jumped forward with its iron jaws open as the teeth closed in on Niki's arm. The wolf missed Niki by a hair as she took the risk.

Niki pushed herself from the edge.

She landed on her back with a sickening crunch. Her body was still in shock as she looked straight at the moon. Right away Niki was able to diagnose herself. Her shoulder was dislocated, both arms…Broken. Right ankle, snapped. Ribs…Broken. Niki desperately tried to move her toes, she couldn't feel her legs…She had broken her spine meaning she was paralyzed. That's when waves of pain hit her over and over again. Her skull was cracked, filling up with blood, in moments she would be dead.

Blood rolled out of her nose and ears as another giant wave of pain tore through her body, Niki couldn't help but to scream and grit her teeth. With every scream her ribs would hurt more and more, unknowingly poking at her lungs. Every inch of her body felt like it had been dipped in battery acid and lit on fire.

The rough footsteps of the beast were now coming near her, as it had scaled down the hill, she was completely helpless. The only thing she could do was scream and cry for help, but that was a mistake as her rib punctured her lungs, blood started to overflow out of her mouth. The creature was at her feet now, studying her as Niki lay motionless, choking on her own blood. The beast perked it's head up as they both heard fast footsteps coming towards them…human footsteps. The wolf growled loudly then scampered off, leaving her to die.

Niki couldn't breathe, the hot metallic blood was suffocating her, she was coughing and spitting up.

The warm blood gurgled and bubbled in the back of her throat as her face went blue. Just when she was about to give up someone placed two fingers under her chin and rolled her head to the side, letting the blood escape out of her mouth. She looked to see the white orchid corsage Stiles had given her was sprayed in her own blood, it was no longer pristine.

Her limp broken body felt cold, tear filled eyes rolled to the back of her head as darkness soon embraced Nikita Grace.

* * *

Stiles' POV

Feet pounded into the hard pavement like thunder as Stiles ran across the parking lot. Beacon Hills High was practically surrounded by the preserve, she could be anywhere. His best guess: she was in the preserves behind the lacrosse field.

The steady rhythm of his feet echoed off the hard ground, soon muffled by wet grass. There she was in the middle of the lacrosse field, surrounded by darkness and standing helpless and confused.

"Niki!" Stiles shouted, but she was too far to hear him.

Stiles ran even faster, nearing to the lacrosse field. The field lights switched on, obscuring his vision as tiny red dots danced behind his eyelids. After a moment his sight adjusted to the bright lights. His eyes shot wide open, it wasn't Nikita…It was Lydia. He cried out her name as he ran even faster, his throat raw and scratchy. Lydia turned to face him, unaware Peter was approaching her.

"LYDIA! RUN!"

Stiles watched as the strawberry blonde hit the ground, blood soaking through her white dress.

he slid on his knees on the slick dewy grass, hovering over her body in a protective stance. Peter crouched next to Stiles, Lydia's blood covered his smug smile.

"P-please don't hurt Lydia." Stiles begged.

Peter stroked her brassy hair with his blood stained fingers, he let out a sigh as he looked to Lydia with a sorry expression "This one didn't put up a fight like the other one. No…This one was easy prey."

Like a punch in the gut Stiles almost doubled over as he realized what Peter was talking about "Wh-what did you do to Niki?!" Peter was still too busy admiring the mess he made as he stroked Lydia's perfect unblemished face with longing.

"What did you do to Niki?." Stiles asked once more. Peter let out a sigh "Let's just say things didn't go like I had planned, she would have been perfect. Your friend here is plan B."

Stiles felt an undeniable burning rage within him "HOW COULD YOU!?" A gasp escaped from his lips as Peter grabbed his tie and pulled him in close "She wasn't supposed to fight back! She was supposed to be in my pack! Now shut up and tell me where I can find Derek!" he gently raked his claws over Lydia's throats, threatening to slice her wide open " help me find him, or she gets it!"

With quivering lips Stiles tried his best to formulate a sentence "wh-what? I don't know how to do that."

Peter rolled his eyes "Because even if I couldn't hear your trembling heart, I would still be able to tell you are lying. Tell me truth Stiles, or I rip her pretty little throat out."

The taste of bile loomed on the tip of his tongue, never had Stiles felt so afraid " Okay! Okay! The night Derek went missing Scott's phone went missing as well. Scott has a smart phone, it has GPS built into it…We're pretty certain Derek has it."

Peter grabbed the back of Stiles' shirt and pulled him off the ground "Good, let's go."

"W-wait! What about Lydia?"

Peter's patience was wearing thin "She'll live."

"And-and Niki?"

Peter hung his head as he dragged Stiles off the field "You won't be seeing her again."

* * *

**:] Hope you all enjoyed that, please let me know what you thought! One more chapter until i'm done with season 1, then my favorite season! If you're still in a suspenseful mood check out my one shot The Bite and let me know what you think, and these awesome stories:**

**-The Serpent and the Butterfly - XxBriannaXx**

**-Shewolf - Vcarp1993**

**-Darkness will come - KoloWolfik**

**-Holding out for tomorrow - Artificial-Paradises**

**- Blue eyes of an innocent killer - ZOMBIEASSASINNINJA**

**- Worthless Sanity - StoryOfSurvival**

**Sorry if i missed anyone, once again thank you.**


	15. All roads lead to-

Thank you to those of you who left me reviews, it honestly helps inspire me and my writing. Sadly this was one of those chapters I really wanted to get out of the way except for the last part. I'm sorry if this chapter comes off as lackluster. This is the last chapter for season 1, I can't tell you all how excited I am for season 2! :]

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**Everlove – Cities in Dust.**

The drive was silent except for the sound of Stiles' beating heart, and the irritating tapping sound of Peter's claw against the window. With every tap of his claws little red droplets would be left behind on the glass. Lydia's blood….or could they possibly be Niki's blood.

Finally Stiles broke the silence "Why Nikita?"

Peter however was more focused on the blurry tree line as they raced down the street "She has a third degree black belt, she's the fastest girl in her cross country team, and she has strong connections to my family. Turn her into a werewolf and expose her to Kate Argent then you have yourself a killing machine." Stiles' grip hardened on the steering wheel as he bit the inside of his cheek.

Peter let out a sigh "I should have known she would put up a fight and go out with a bang, so I settled for the red head; at least she has smarts."

Stiles swallowed hard and asked the question he feared most "H-how did it happen?" Peter faced him completely lost in his own thoughts of vengeance"Hmm?"

"How did she die?"

The Alpha looked out the window wearing a sorry expression "She fell. She fell off the edge of Suicide Hill. She's either dead or about to die."

"And you didn't go back to save her!?" Stiles shouted as his hands gripped white to the bone on the steering wheel.

"There was someone there…Something there." Peter barked back.

Stiles shot him an incredulous looks "You're an Alpha! The apex of all creatures! King of the food chain! The big bad wolf! You left her because _something_ was there!?" With that Stiles made a sharp U-turn causing Peter to topple over in his seat. His car made a high pitched sound as the tires left a skid mark on the asphalt "We're going to go get her!"

Without hesitation Peter placed his sharp claws on Stiles' throat "Turn the car around or I swear I will carve out your Adam's apple." Stiles held his breath and reluctantly turned the car around.

After twenty minutes of driving the two arrived at a parking structure. Peter forcefully opened the driver's seat door and grabbed Stiles by the scruff of his neck, dragging him to a grey Mercedes.

The Alpha patted himself down, slightly confused.

The scrawny human stifled a laugh "Lost your keys, huh?" Peter rolled his eyes as he slammed his hand down on the trunk, popping it open. Cold hollow eyes stared back at Stiles, causing him to stumble backwards and double over; Peter's nurse was stuffed in the trunk.

Peter however was unfazed as he pulled a laptop out of her lifeless grip. Stiles was trying to control his gag reflexes "Do all werewolves go for Mac? Or is it just a personal preference."

Peter's eyes flashed a ruby red as a warning. "Even in times of danger you still manage to be sarcastic, don't you Stiles?" Trying not to press his luck Stiles decided to shut up and watch the Alpha press various keys on the computer. The teenager's mind kept wandering to Niki, lying at the bottom of the hill. It took him everything to keep a brave face and hold his tears; but Peter's senses picked up the acrid scent of fear right away.

"I need Scott's password."

Stiles had the upper hand here, or so he thought "I don't know it." In a blink of an eye the side of his face was pressed against the cold trunk of the car, Peter's sharp grip holding him down.

The Alpha growled, sending shivers down Stiles' spine "I don't have time Stiles, but I'll make time to rip out your throat"

Stiles reluctantly typed in the login and the password only to hear Peter groan in frustration "His user and password is Allison?"

A faint smile pulled at the corners of Stiles' lips "You still want him in your pack?"

* * *

Derek's POV

The weight of the world literally felt like it was resting on his shoulders. Derek was drained of any strength; even lifting his head up was too great of a task. The electric currents ran through his body like blood cells, keeping his strength and abilities at bay. He had been hidden away in the Argent basement for what felt like days now. Each passing day his pride had been worn and beaten, he had believed he could escape on his own. Alone, a word he was very familiar to, a word that had become his identity. Ever since the fire he and Laura became very independent, always finding ways out of trouble on their own. But he was defeated.

Derek closed his eyes and let his body go limp; there was no point in fighting anymore. For a moment he saw his mother's face in his memories. Her black silken hair dancing in the summer breeze, her green eyes glimmering in the sunlight. "A man can be destroyed, but not defeated; Derek."

Derek finally understood the way out. It took everything for him just to lift his head and let out a loud howl. It echoed through the night sky and radiated all around Beacon Hills for wolves to hear.

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Walter's POV

"What do you mean Jennifer has checked Peter Hale out!?" Walter decided to check up on Peter during his dinner break, only to find him missing. "She does not have the right to check him out!" he couldn't help but to shout at the trembling nurse behind the counter, but he was slowly putting the pieces together.

With a shaky finger the nurse pushed up her glasses "Actually Dr. Grace, Peter Hale checked himself out." Walt stumbled backwards as realization hit him square in the face.

The speaker above his head went off, startling him. "Dr. Grace, please report to the E.R immediately."

The doctor took the elevator up trying to calm his nerves "Peter is not the Alpha, Peter is not the Alpha." He kept telling himself, he would make it his daily mantra if he had to. Peter would never kill his own niece, he would never-

Walter looked at the back of his hands, shaking to no end. The elevator door opened as a bustle of people ran through the halls in panic. Walter opened the door to the E.R room to find a gaggle of nurses and Brody giving oxygen to a girl soaked in blood. She looked to be about Niki's age. Walter walked closer to find that it was Lydia Martin; a bite mark marred her abdomen. A wave of nausea swept over him as he stood still and watched the scene unfold in front of him. Dr. Jones bundled up a towel and firmly held it against her bite mark, trying to slow the bleeding. Walter rolled on a pair of latex gloves "All nurses out!" His baritone voice echoed throughout the room, startling all the nurses. They scurried away like frightened animals as Brody swept the beads of sweat off his furrowed eyebrows.

"Another animal attack." Brody growled "Tell me why an innocent sixteen year old girl is on our table?"

Walter was racking his brain trying to find possible answers to Brody's questions. His unsteady hands found the needle and sutures. He took a deep breath trying his best to control his hands; it would take great concentration to stitch her up. Both Brody and Walter stopped stitching the girl when they heard shouting right outside the room. "Brody, take over; I'll be right back." His friend nodded in understanding.

Walter busted through the double doors in a furious mood, only to see Sheriff Stilinski throttling Jackson Whittemore by the collar of his shirt. "What happened to the girl!?" The Sheriff shouted in Jackson's face, the teenage boy looked pale as chalk as Nurse McCall tried her best to diffuse the situation.

"I-I went looking for her and I found her-

The Sheriff's eyebrows hitched up in disbelief "You're telling me you found her like this?" Walter felt sick to his stomach, he knew Lydia and Jackson well, both being associated with his daughter.

A whisper as light as a feather escaped his lips "Nikita."

Both the Sheriff and Jackson looked to Walter in confusion. "Jackson, my daughter went to the dance with the Sheriff's son?" The Sheriff finally let go of Jackson as he seemed to understand something was terribly wrong. Jackson gulped loudly as he nodded his head.

Walter took a step towards the boy, his olive eyes burning holes into Jackson "When did you last see her?" Melissa rested her hand on Walt's shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"I-in the preserves."

Walt's hands slowly curled to fists "You left my daughter in the cold? In the middle of the ni-"

"I-I gave her some alcohol to keep her warm." Jackson spat out, still confused by the situation.

The Sheriff's mouth dropped open in disbelief as he ran his fingers through his hair "You're telling me you gave alcohol to a minor, then left her in the middle of the woods the same night your girlfriend was attacked?" Jackson just stared with wide eyes as he figured out what was going on; Melisa McCall's jaw dropped "Oh god."

Sherriff Stilinski went pale, with shaky hands he turned on his radio "I want a search on the forests surrounding Beacon Hills High and somebody find my son."

Walter's face however remained as calm as still water, he was in too much of a catatonic state to show any sense of emotion. From the corner of his eye he saw Brody wheel out Lydia to the recovery room. His feet guided him to the window where he could watch Lydia sleep. His eyes played a cruel trick on him, Niki was laying in the bed, covered in blood, throat torn out. Walter squeezed his eyes shut trying to ride the image, burn it out of his head. That's when Melissa's gentle touch snapped him back to reality, her lips were moving but Walter couldn't hear a word she was saying. Never had he been so terrified in his life, Nikita was all he had left, his only child, his heart…his soul. Melissa let out a gasp as Lydia began thrashing about in the bed, she was going into shock. Brody ran back into the room as Walter followed close behind, by the time they had entered the room her stats were back to normal. Slowly and carefully Walter peeled back the bandage covering her wound expecting it to have healed itself by now. Walter's eyes grew wide as Brody peered down as well, the two exchanged confused glances. The bite mark was still red and inflamed, fresh as ever.

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Stiles' POV

A blanket of calmness rested between the two of them as Peter looked up at the night sky. "Did he see something?" Stiles looked up at the same night sky…There was nothing "Maybe he hears something."

Peter's attention turned back to Stiles "I best be going now, but one thing…before I go." Peter's fingers curled around Stiles wrist with no intent on letting go, Stiles' hand recoiled like a snake, but Peter had him hooked "I like you Stiles, that is why I'm offering you the bite.

Stiles stared at him blankly, contemplating the idea; It was as though Peter had read his mind "You'll be so much faster, so much stronger. Hell…If you were a werewolf you could have protected Nikita from her dire fate." There was no fight or protest from Stiles' end as Peter dipped his head and opened his mouth. Stiles pulled back his hand "I don't want to be like you."

The Alpha shrugged his shoulders as he rolled up his sleeves "Such a shame, this is where we part; Stiles." Stiles watched as Peter got in his car and drove out of the parking garage. Beacon Hills Hospital was only a few blocks from where he stood, he knew his father would be there…Maybe he could get a search party for Nikita.

Stiles stormed through the Hospital halls in search of his father. Peter said Nikita was dead by now, but Stiles held onto a shred of hope, it was all he had keeping him from a mental breakdown. Jackson was on his flank like a lost puppy "I had no clue all of this was going to happen! Where are you going!?"

"To find my father, now shut up and let me think." Stiles snapped.

"He's not here, I think he's patrolling the preserves for Niki."

Stiles let out a sigh of defeat "I need to go find her, now." Jackson scratched at the back of his head in confusion "And what do you want me to do?" There was genuine concern and fear disguised in Jackson's voice. "I'm going to go find her, you help Scott with anything he needs." Jackson nodded in understanding. The two of them were walking towards the exit when a pair of hands dragged Stiles into a vacant room. Both Jackson and Stiles were thrown onto a gurney, Chris Argent had been waiting for them. His cold grey eyes swirled with anger and menace as he looked the boys up and down 'Have any of you seen Scott?"

Stiles was quick to answer, lying was his second best talent, next to defeating dragons in Skyrim "Nope." Jackson shook his head side to side "n-No, I haven't seen him…All day." Stiles let out a groan as he face palmed himself, Jackson was good at many things, but telling lies wasn't one of them. A loud yelp escaped from Stiles' lips as Chris Argent held him up by the collar of his shirt, the tips of his toes were barely touching the ground "Has Scott tried to kill you!? Has he!?" The hunter's face was going a slight red with rage.

Stiles tried to wriggle out of the grip "Once, but I chained him to the radiator and figured it out. I could have just locked him in the basement and lit the house on fire though, sound familiar Argent?"

Chris let go of Stiles as his face softened "That wasn't us." Us referring to his entire family. Stiles let out a snort of laughter as he looked side to side "Yeah, because you guys have a code you never break…Right?"

The hunter's eyes narrowed to two slits, carefully peering at the odd teenager in front of him spewing non-sense "Never."

Stiles took a step closer to Chris "What if someone did?"

"Like who, Stiles?"

"….Your sister."

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Derek's POV

A flick on his nose caused him to wince in his unconscious state, another flick to the nose forced him to open his heady lidded eyes. Scott McCall was standing before him with a sheepish grin plastered on his face, two beaten Argent guards were groaning at his feet. Derek's eyes lit up, he had never been so happy to see Scott. "Get me out of here." Derek hissed, without a word Scott broke the chains right off.

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Scott's POV

"He'll be here, I know he will." The Beta growled as the two of them walked through the preserves, to Derek's burnt down home. Scott's stomach was in knots, every bone in his body was trembling violently. Allison had just discovered his true form, the carefully placed veil ripped off her eyes. She looked horrified, panic-stricken, even disgusted at the sight of him, it broke his heart in two.

"I hope so." Scott muttered under his breath, he was going to find the Alpha….and then what? Kill him so he could be with Allison? Kill an actual person? Scott was the kind of person to trap a spider in a jar and set it free rather than kill it. Derek stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes narrowed to slits as his head perked up. A low growl rumbled in the back of his throat making Scott's body stiffen with awareness…Something was wrong. A whizzing sound shot past Scott, knocking Derek onto his feet. An arrow had dug itself into Derek's shoulder.

Scott's eyes widened as Kate Argent emerged from the thicket, Allison right behind her with a crossbow in hand. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, unable to utter a single word. His eyes followed Allison's finger as she pulled back on her bow.

Kate stood behind her niece, like a red devil on her shoulder, whispering orders in her ear "Good shot sweetie, now go for the legs."

"Allison, no!" Scott shouted as she loosed the arrow right into Derek's leg.

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Allison's POV

She marched towards Scott with her bow ready and loaded. Never had she been so confused and angry in her life. It was only a few days ago when she was exposed to the world of the supernatural, finally exposed to all the secrets.

Secrets, they were around her all the time, and right now she was staring one in the eyes. Scott stumbled backwards and fell to the floor "Allison, wait! I can explain!" His begging only made him look pathetic. Her anger boiled to the surface " Just stop!" everyone had been lying to her, but she never thought Scott would be one of them, she trusted him, she loved him. "You lied to me." It took her everything to keep her voice stern and strong, when all she wanted was to curl in a ball and cry.

Scott raised his hands in surrender as he looked to her with his brown puppy eyes "I was going to tell you everything at formal Allison. Everything I told you was true, I love you Allison-"

"I don't believe you." her voice laced with venom as she gritted down on her teeth.

Kate circled around Scott like a predator "Thank god, how about we hurry up this episode of Dawson's Creek? Shoot him already." Allison's face contorted in confusion, she never wanted to kill Scott "What are you talking about?"

Her Aunt's sweet façade melted away, instead replaced with one of pure hatred "I'm talking about this." Allison let out a yelp as Kate's gun unloaded into Derek Hale's stomach. The gun was immediately pointed at Scott, Kate let out a sigh "Fine, you've twisted my arm…I'll do it for you."

"Kate!"

Allison turned to the side to see her father pointing a gun to Kate "I know what you did Kate, put the gun down." The two siblings glared each other down for a moment until the huntress spoke up "I did what I was told to do…And I would do it again if I had to."

Chris calmly walked towards his sister, hoping to rid of the gun "No one asked you to murder innocent children, ones that were human. And look at you now, holding a gun to a sixteen year old boy." This did nothing to sway Kate of her decisions, instead her finger tightened around the trigger.

Kate jumped as Chris shot at a tree right next to her, he meant serious business.

All of a sudden the door to the Hale house flew open, a weary sense of dread enveloped Allison as she ran to her father's side. Scott scurried to his feet as a growl escaped his lips. In the blink of an eye Allison was on the floor, along with her father and Scott. Kate was the only one left standing, a lone solider on the front lines "C'mon!" Kate shouted provoking the beast as she cocked her gun. Allison's jaw dropped to the floor as the man from the mall approached Kate. Her Aunt let out a scream as Peter crushed her arm, forcing her to drop the gun. He managed to drag her into the house without any troubles. Allison jumped to her feet and ran into the home.

A Cheshire smile formed on his face as if he had been awaiting her. The Alpha's claws were pressed against Kate's throat, Allison had never seen her aunt look so fearful. Peter's fixed gaze on Allison flashed a ruby red as he pressed his lips against the bottom of Kate's earlobe in a menacing seductive manner "Such a beauty she is, She looks just like you." Kate let out a whimper as she struggled to get out of his grip

The weary teenager took a step towards her aunt, but Peter let out a spine chilling growl as a warning "You know Allison, I had a niece who would have been around your age…Cora Hale was her name." Peter looked around the burned house as if he heard something.

"You know I sometimes hear her and Nikita's laughter in my head, one of the few memories I cherish." Allison's mouth hung open as she figured out the initials on Niki's necklace, It was Kate who burned down the Hale home.

"Allison get out of here." Her aunt pleaded.

"She's not going anywhere!" Peter shouted, a vein throbbed on his temple "I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself Kate! Say you're sorry, say you're sorry for leaving me burned and crippled for six years, for decimating my entire family!"

Allison held her breath, hoping and praying her aunt would drop her wall and forget about pride. She always looked up to Kate, she was always so tenacious and brazen, a hero in her eyes. But now she looked so meek and powerless.

Kate locked eyes with her niece, with quivering lips she whispered her last words "I'm sorry."

Peter sighed with gratification, in quick move his claws raked across Kate's throat. Her flimsy body fell to the floor with a thud, lifeless eyes staring right back at Allison.

Allison couldn't help but to cry out for her dead aunt as Peter started stalking towards her. Both Scott and Derek entered the room, completely wolfed out. Without a seconds hesitation Allison ran out of the house and to her father's side as he slowly came to. Jackson's car raced up to the driveway "Where are they!?" As if on cue Scott was thrown out the window with a crash.

The jock rummaged through his trunk "I think I got it." He pulled out a gasoline canister "Allison ready your bow." Allison drew her bow as Jackson ripped the bottom of his shirt and tied the cotton strip to the arrowhead.

The alpha broke through the door with a loud roar red eyes swirling with lust for blood. Jackson hurled the canister right at the beast, who managed to catch it in its grips. The cotton strip was lit up as Allison loosed the arrow at the canister.

Both Jackson and Allison ducked for cover as Peter was engulfed in flames, his painful cries filled the night sky. Allison felt nauseous as the smell of burning flesh filled her senses. He stumbled around crying for help, and all they did was watch. Finally the fire simmered down as Derek walked to his uncle.

Peter lay on his back, looking at the bright moon, a sad smile painted on his face. Derek stood tall before him, looking down at his uncle in disgust.

Scott jumped to his feet "Derek what are you doing!?

Derek raised his claws to the moonlight and struck down across Peter's throat. Peter's thin lips formed into a smile as he grabbed his bleeding gash with both hands. Red silk ribbons of blood seeped between the cracks of his hands. "She was going to be great, she was going to be unstoppable, she was going to be my partner in crime."

Derek's brows stitched together…Peter's partner in crime? "Who are you talking about!?" Derek demanded. Blood began to gurgle and bubble in the back of Peter's throat, making him unable to talk or breathe. His body went limp and cold.

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Stiles' POV

The smell of burning rubber wafted into the air as the blue jeep came to a screeching halt at the edge of the preserve. There he found his father , five squad cars, and two search dogs waiting. Stiles jumped out of his car as his father ran to him "Where were you!? How did you lose Nikita!?" Stiles felt a pang of guilt radiate through him like never before.

The Sheriff gathered the search party "Alright everyone, let's begin the search, keep your eyes peeled for Nikita Grace. A Sixteen year old girl with long brown hair and green eyes. About five foot six, last seen wearing a pale pink dress."

The morning sun was peering out from behind the tree line, fingers of light reached out across the land. Stiles' eyes were burning from lack of sleep, but his senses were sharp as ever as they entered the preserve. Detective Moore was on the case, she was only called in for extreme cases…This was not good. Her eyes were scanning the preserves like a hawk, bright blue eyes; always searching. The older woman tied her silky raven hair in a knot and rolled on a pair of black latex gloves, getting ready to do what she always did best, find and solve.

***Stiles knew they had to reach Suicide Hill, he would have to find a way to lead them there without it looking like he had any knowledge of her whereabouts.

"Sheriff!" A young deputy with an accomplished smile ran up to them, a silver flask in hand "I found this!" Detective Moore let out a groan of frustration as she snatched the flask out of his hand "Moron, learn to use gloves, and leave the evidence to me."

Carefully she slid the flask into a baggy and tucked it away in her coat. Stiles was holding his breath, hoping the search would go faster. Sheriff Stilinski hallowed his hands to amplify his voice "I want all of you to go west, my son, Detective Moore and I will go north."

"Finally." Stiles thought to himself, he had never been so anxious and jumpy before. As they journeyed north Detective Moore came across a pair of nude Heels, Stiles recognized them immediately. Detective Moore held a shoe up with the end of her pen and studied them closely "hmm…size eight, average size."

Their pace picked up, but Stiles couldn't stand it anymore.

He broke out into a run, completely deaf to his father's shouts. He didn't care anymore about remaining inconspicuous, he had to find her. Heavy feet pounded into the dead leaves resting on the soil, Stiles was nearing Suicide Hill.

Stiles doubled over as he reached near his destination, his frantic breathing and pounding heart broke the eerie silence of the woods. Tears started to form in the corner of Stiles' eyes, none of this felt real until now. He held his breath as he took a cautious step towards the edge of the hill, ready to see her limp cold body, ready to accept the fact he had messed up.

"Stiles!" his father's shouts echoed throughout preserves as him and Detective Moore ran to his side.

Stiles' heart lodged itself to the back of his throat as he stared wide eyed at the empty ground at the bottom of Suicide Hill…Peter had lied.

Nikita was nowhere to be found.

His father was red faced and panting, trying to catch his breath "Why did you run?"

All he could do was shake his head in confusion. Detective Moore however crouched over the edge like a gargoyle statue, perching on the edge of the world. Both Stiles and his father exchanged glances as Detective Moore started to scale down the hill. Sheriff Stilinski never questioned the detective, her odd ways always found answers. Stiles scaled down as well, hoping to find answers and clues to her whereabouts. After a few minutes all three of them were at the bottom of the hill.

Detective Moore crouched to the ground as she studied her surroundings. Stiles wanted to study by her side, but he let her ponder in her brilliance. Detective Moore's bright blue eyes darted between the top of the hill and the ground, slowly putting the pieces together.

"There's an indent in the shape of a body in the ground….someone fell."

Stiles' world came crashing down on him as he fell to his knees, his frightened eyes landed on a white orchid corsage sprayed in blood; the same corsage he had given Nikita.

Detective Moore spotted the flowers right away and stored them in a plastic zippy "A fall like that would cause a severe brain injury. Judging by the blood splatter patterns on the corsage I would say it was a nasty fall."

"Where did she go?" his voice came out raspy as it pushed past the lump in his throat.

Detective Moore's bold brows knitted together "foot prints."

Stiles sprung to his feet as he and his father ran to the Detective's side, sure enough there were footprints leading out of the preserves.

"Size eight, female, she was limping." The detective pointed to a clear pair of foot prints "The left foot is deeper than the right, she's injured." The three of them followed the footsteps, the only sliver of hope in finding Nikita. Their hope was soon tarnished as the footprints lead them to a wide road.

The Sheriff ran his fingers through his sandy hair "She could be anywhere…injured and alone." Stiles could hear his father's voice crack, and it hurt him, it broke his heart. Detective Moore placed her hand gingerly on Sheriff's Stilinski's back to offer comfort, the two of them dialed in on their radios; leaving Stiles alone with his thoughts.

Nikita survived Suicide Hill, but now she was missing and severely injured. All because he had a moment of weakness and let Peter trump his intelligence, Nikita was his weakness. This…This was his entire fault.

The teenager looked at the back of his hands, but his vision was hazy. It was an early sign he was about to have a panic attack, he used to get them often after his mother had passed away. His father was the first to notice as he ran to his son's side "Son, just breathe, count to five. We'll count for you." A firm hand was pressed on Stiles' chest, trying to calm his breathing.

"One" Both Detective Moore and his father started the count for him.

His heart rate picked up as the sound of his pulse pounded like a drum inside his head.

"Two" Stiles' breathing became frantic as his body was taken over by violent trembles.

"Three" Beads of sweat formed on his brow as his body temperature rose. Counting wasn't working, it was getting worse and worse. Stiles stumbled backwards as his vision started to tunnel.

The shouts of his father urging him to breathe were barely audible. Hands shook his shoulders, but he didn't want to be touched, he felt confined, he felt claustrophobic. Stiles sunk into darkness as his body hit the floor.

**I love torturing Stiles, always a fun time! Season two will be up before you know it :]**


	16. Nowhere to be found

**I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope it shows. Thank you for all of you who supported season one of my story; all of you are amazing. I'm sorry to say that this chapter, and the next will be short. But hey! we're officially on season two :] my favorite season to write, enjoy!**

* * *

**Done all wrong - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club**

* * *

_***The light summer breeze blew through her silken hair, releasing the intoxicating smell of jasmine in the air. Stiles closed his eyes as he took in the scent, goose bumps rose to his skin as dopamine swam through his veins and to his brain. He was leaning against the hood of his jeep as he held Niki in his arms. She sighed as she leaned her back further into his chest, admiring the stunning field of vibrant wildflowers before them. Stiles buried his face in the crook of her neck, using his long lashes to tickle her._

_It worked as she let out a giggle. There was nothing more he loved than that sound, it made him smile even wider. She turned around and faced him, her lips dragged across his "I can feel you smiling" Niki purred._

_Stiles gently cupped her face as he pressed his lips against hers, he could get drunk off of her kisses. She pulled away with a coy smile as she walked into the field of flowers. It was a gorgeous sight seeing her in a white dress, immersing herself in the sea of white, purples, and yellows. The flowers kissed the palms of her hands, ticking them, causing another set of giggles. _

_She stopped in the middle of the sea and gave Stiles a "come hither" look. He joined her in the middle of the field as his lips found hers yet again. Her hand ran through his hair as she pulled him in close, deepening the kiss. Stiles could feel the heat of passion radiating through his body as they kissed harder, with more lust and need. They ended up on the floor with her straddling him, she pinned his hands down to the ground "I win!" she declared as her single dimple emerged "What do I get?" Stiles let out a hearty laugh as he pulled her down. She let out a sigh as she rested her head on his chest "Thank you for bringing me here." This time he could feel her smiling as she listened to his beating heart, beating only for her. The sun was sinking before them, creating an ethereal golden glow all around them. Stiles breathed in deeply, he knew her head was lifting and falling with his chest. He closed his eyes as he listened to her heart warming laughter, suddenly the laughter stopped. Stiles sat up, Nikita was missing. He opened his mouth to shout out her name, but nothing came out…Not a sound…_

Stiles' POV

His eyes opened to the glowing stars above him…Glow in the dark stars to be exact. A sigh escaped his lips…It was only a dream.

"I'm so glad you're finally awake! You've been asleep for eleven hours!" Scott was pacing back and forth in Stiles' room in sheer panic.

Stiles slowly sat up as he stretched his arms and legs, taking his time with getting out of bed. Scott clenched his jaw in annoyance "Can you go any slower? Everything is a mess right now! Jackson received the bite, Peter is dead, I am forbidden from ever seeing Allison again, Lydia was attacked, and Niki-"

Stiles' eyes widened as he shot out of bed, how had he forgotten about Niki? He ran to his closet and pulled out his red hoodie. Mindlessly he put on his mismatched shoes in a hurry and he bolted for the door. However Scott pulled him back by his hoodie "Dude, you need to eat first." Stiles shot his best friend a death glare as he grabbed the collar of Scott's shirt "Are you kidding me right now? Niki is out there, injured, alone, and confused."

The beta's eyes flashed a golden yellow and his canine teeth extended in warning "You need to eat…now."

Stiles kindly straightened Scott's shirt, slightly fearing him "you're absolutely right, pal."

Scott watched in disgust as Stiles tilted the bowl of cereal to his lips and inhaled whatever was left.

Stiles wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve "run the plan by me again."

The Beta got up from his seat " check on Lydia, meet up with Allison to track down Niki, Argent funeral tomorrow." Stiles' father entered the kitchen and went straight for the alcohol cabinet, without greeting the two boys. It had been years since the Sheriff had a drink, clearly there had been no progress with the disappearance of Nikita.

* * *

Walt's POV

He ran to the bathroom in time to throw up in a stall. Walt's fingers wrapped around the cold dirty porcelain as he emptied the contents of his stomach. It had been twenty four hours since Nikita's disappearance, and there was still no clue to her whereabouts. The Sheriff had done a good job with keeping the press out, but Walter was still unconvinced of his search efforts.

He could hear Brody Jones pacing right outside his bathroom stall. Brody was a true friend, he had stayed by Walt's side all night and day. His son Alex finally came home the other night, but Brody refused to leave Walt's side. The Police tried to convince Walt to go home, in case Nikita showed up. But he knew she wouldn't show up at home.

Walt leaned his head against the stall door as he slumped to the floor, completely weak and sleep deprived "Brody, go home, please go see your son…Spend time with your family."

Brody's pacing stopped as he spoke up "I'm not leaving Walt, you need me, that Lydia girl needs me, my son will understand."

There was no winning with Brody, the man was as stubborn as a mule "How about this? You go home and see your son, and I promise to take a nap in the resting room."

A moment of silence fell between the two of them "fine, promise me you'll go get some sleep." And with that Brody walked out of the hospital bathroom. Walter got up and walked out of the bathroom stall. Cold water ran past his lips as he washed his mouth out with the tap, the taste of rust bitter on his tongue. Two baggy bloodshot eyes looked right back at him, the eyes of a failure parent. Walt stared back at his reflection in the mirror, belittling himself in his mind. He stood there in silence for minutes, the only sound was the sound of an irritating leaky faucet. That's when he caught the figure in the corner of his eyes, Walter turned around and grabbed the figure by the collar of their shirt and pushed them again the wall.

It was Derek Hale.

Walter gritted his teeth so hard he swore they would crumble as he pushed Derek up against the wall harder. "How could you let this happen!?" he spat "How could you have been so oblivious." He was projecting all his fear and anger onto Derek. Walter had been just as blind and oblivious as Derek, perhaps worse.

Derek's face however was calm and hard, absent of any emotion. "I didn't think this would happen. It was Peter, he wanted to give her the bite." All of Walt's suspicions were true, it was Peter.

Walt finally let go of Derek as the werewolf cleared his throat "He wanted to turn her into a weapon against the Argents. She was already athletic and knew how to fight. If he had turned her all her skills would have heightened."

Walter grimaced as he turned around, he couldn't even look Derek in the eyes "I don't want to hear anymore, go, get out of here, go find her!"

Derek hung his head low as he walked to the door "I'm sorry Mr. Grace" he mumbled right before he left. Walt felt the guilt within him "No, I'm sorry Derek." But he was already gone. The doctor walked out of the bathroom and decided to check up on Lydia one last time before heading to the resting room. He opened the door to see Scott McCall and the Sheriff's son crouching on the floor. Immediately he rolled his eyes, the two boys knew Lydia wasn't allowed to have visitors "Out you two, now!"

Scott jumped up with a worried look on his face "Please don't tell my mom." With that he raced out of the room with Stiles right behind him; but Walt grabbed his arm. The pale boy looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

* * *

Stiles' POV

With narrow suspicious eyes Stiles peered down the hospital corridor "coast is clear wolfy." Scott darted past him and opened the door to Lydia's room, while Stiles nearly tripped over his shoe laces. They were both in her hospital room, Stiles crawled across the floor to the foot of her bed. Both boys slowly got up from the floor and peered down at a sleeping Lydia. Stiles let out a sigh "Wow, she's actually not that bad when she's sleeping."

Scott scratched his head in confusion "she's not even talking…" A sheepish grin formed on Stiles' lips "I know. Now remove that bandage." Scott shot him a hesitant look "me? I don't want to touch it."

"Yes you!" Stiles whispered loudly "I'm not good with blood, you know that." Scott let out a groan as he slowly lifted the bandage. Stiles flinched, the bite was still fresh.

Both boys dropped to the floor when they heard footsteps coming towards the room. Walter Grace stood before them, completely unimpressed. Scott shot up "Please don't tell my mother!" with that he ran out of the room, Stiles scurried to his feet but Walter grabbed his arm.

"Are you alright?"

The question surprised Stiles, no one had asked him about his well being yet "Not really…Are you?" Walter shook his head, his brown hair fell over his olive eyes, holding back tears.

"Mr. Grace, I can't tell you how sorry I-"

Walter placed a hand on Stiles' shoulder "It's not your fault Stiles, no one could have prevented this."

Stiles felt a lump grow in his throat, if he had opened his eyes he would have seen this coming "I promise to find her, I promise I will bring her back to you."

He ran all the way out to the parking lot to find Scott and Allison waiting for him "did you bring it, Allison?" The brunette pulled out a white sweater from her bag. The boys had asked Allison to sneak into Niki's room and retrieve an article of clothing…They were going hunting.

The cold night air washed over Scott's face as he held his nose up, trying to track her scent. Stiles was driving as fast as ever, listening to his friend giving him directions "Okay stop here!"

They were back at the main road where Stiles had his anxiety attack when they lost Nikita's foot prints. Allison turned on her flash light and shone it on the black asphalt as Scott sniffed at the air "She went up the road." Unexpectedly he broke into a run, both Allison and Stiles struggled to keep up with him. Scott ran into a different set of preserves hopping over rocks and brambles as he followed the scent. He came to a halt when he reached a creek, the vivid moonlight reflected perfectly in the clear water. Stiles and Allison finally caught up to him, both completely breathless.

Scott's brows furrowed as his nose scrunched. He turned east and sniffed the air, he turned west and sniffed the air, did a complete three-sixty and sniffed around. Stiles' face distorted in confusion as he lifted his arm and smelled his arm pit.

Finally Scott spoke up "Her scent it everywhere. It's all over the place…It's like she backtracked and walked all over so we can't find her."

Stiles buried his face in his hands as Allison rubbed his back for comfort. She was in distraught over her friends disappearance as well "Why would Niki not want to be found?"

**Can't wait to update with the next chapter! :D Please let me know what you think, your reviews help inspire me to write; especially those giving me advice! **


	17. Walk

**Hi everyone, I got only one review for my last chapter, which freaks me out because it was my first chapter for season 2 :[ I'm totally insecure and would appreciate support and most of all feedback. Yes this is a chapter, not a teaser even though it's really really short.**

**If I Had a Heart – Fever Ray**

_It hurt, everything hurt. Her body ached and quivered so hard she swore her bones would turn to dust and wither away. Coldness wrapped around her like an old familiar friend, her warm breath fogged in the night sky. She pursed her blood crusted lips together, the taste of rust loomed in her mouth._

_Where was she?_

_Her surroundings didn't look familiar, wiry dead trees arched in front of her, creating an ominous path to follow. Her toes dug into the soil, this wasn't Beacon Hills. The Beacon Hills preserve floors were always covered with pine needles, but the earth here was soft, wet, and mossy. A tear rolled down her cheek as her breath hitched in her throat…She wasn't alone. A presence was behind her, non threatening; but intimidating._

_Niki slowly turned her head around to try and steal a glance "Don't even think about it." The voice warned. Quickly she turned her head back, not taking any chances. It was a man's voice, one she had never heard before…or had she?_

_It was hard to tell with her head pounding like a drum, her heart beat was even louder , faster than the fluttering wings of a hummingbird. She couldn't help but to let out a sob, her right hand covered her mouth, trying to muffle her cries._

_The stranger swept the dark curtain of hair away from her face with long icy fingers. He rested his chin on her shoulder, Niki's body was as stiff as ever. She could feel his warm breath on the shell of her ear, it sent icy shivers down her spine that caused her to cringe in fear. His hand slid down her goose bump covered arms and held her hands pinned down to her side. A gasp escaped her lips as he forced a fistful of coins in her hand._

_"Walk." He ordered in a gruff voice. But it was the dead of night, Niki was in pain and completely lost. _

_"Wh-where." _

_"Right foot, left foot." He growled, with that he gave her a gentle nudge, Niki winced in pain as she began her journey into darkness, never looking back._

**Hope you enjoyed that little chapter, i'll try to update before I leave for Coachella thursday. Otherwise it'll take me a while to update again. Thank you for reading!**


	18. Night Call

**Hi everyone, sorry for not being around. I was off to Coachella from thursday until monday night, then I had lots of catching up to do with homework! I see a lot of people haven't updated their stories in a while :-\ I need some reading material for inspiration. So I know it's very unconventional of me to update on a saturday, call this self sabatoge if you want haha. Thank you so much for leaving me reviews for the last chapter, it was super kind of all of you. I enjoyed writing this chapter while listening to this song, ooooooooooooo the feels :]**

* * *

**The Cold - Exitmusic**

Silent steps lightly treaded across the dimly lit street, not a soul was awake at this hour. The Alpha slid past the cemetery gates like an alley cat, unnoticed, hidden amongst the shadows. Niki had been missing for five days now…Five. He had been so overzealous when he had obtained the powers of an Alpha, that he immediately turned Jackson. Jackson was a weasel and with no use, and Niki was still missing.

Scott and Stiles spent every night looking for her but there was no point; she didn't want to be found. Not even Derek with his new found Alpha abilities could track her down. He wasn't going to give up on her, she was family, he was going to bring her home…And he knew just how.

Derek stuffed his hands in his pockets as he stalked across the cemetery . Carefully he hid behind a weeping angel statue.

He may have not been able to track her scent down alone, but with a pack he would increase his chances of finding her.

His first victim was alone digging up a grave. A young boy by the name of Isaac Lahey, an easy target, an easy Beta. Derek's eyes glowed a savage red as his canines grew.

* * *

Scott's POV

A part of him felt missing, rather hallow. Niki's disappearance had affected everyone in Beacon Hills. Scott may not have been close to Niki like Stiles and Allison were, but a part of him felt responsible for her. If he felt so empty he wondered how Stiles was feeling. His heart broken best friend slumped against a locker and watched students pass by. Everyone was dull and sulking, hardly picking up their feet; Niki's disappearance had affected many people…Except for Jackson Whittemore.

Jackson walked down the hall with a brand new leather jacket, a million dollar smile, and a pep in his step. Scott's eyes burned a hole in the jock as he practically frolicked down the hall, Derek should have never bit him. Derek should have never wasted his time with Jackson, Scott should have stopped Peter, he should have been smart enough to understand that Niki was a pawn all along. So many things he could have done, just thinking about it angered him. Scott could feel his eyes glowing amber with rage, he quickly stuck his head in the locker.

"We'll find her." Stiles' voice was hardly audible, but reassuring . Stiles was the only spark of hope left, the only thing fanning the flames. His faltering voice gave Scott a thread of confidence, just enough to hang on.

Scott felt Stiles place his hand on his shoulder, glowing eyes faded back to brown "I'll find her, Scott."

* * *

Stiles' POV

The elevator doors opened to the third floor of the hospital, Stiles walked down the hall with a balloon in hand. He had decided to check up on Lydia while Scott scoured the preserves again, Stiles would only slow him down. There was nothing more he hated than hospitals, his childhood was plagued with images of CAT scans, emergency rooms, and tubes. He approached Lydia's room only to be stopped by a stern Melissa McCall "Not now Stiles, she's in the shower." The teenager hung his head as he dragged his feet to the nearest vending machine, on a mission to find and devour a snickers bar. Just his luck, the retched little bar of scrumptious chocolate was lodged between the glass and the spring.

Stiles gritted his teeth as he lightly banged his head against the vending machine a few times, to his surprise the bar fell. A small smile of victory formed on his lips as he rubbed his raw forehead.

Right as he bent over to retrieve his reward a blood curdling scream ripped through the air and sent a pang of terror to his heart.

"Lydia!"

He ran to her room and tried to open her bathroom door, but it was locked. Dr. Jones and Melissa ran into the room to Stiles' side. In a blink of an eye Dr. Jones kicked down the door with ease like it was made of cardboard. Lydia was crouched in the corner of the of the shower as water cascaded down her naked body. Her eyes wide with fear, her lips trembled trying to whisper jumbled words.

Her wet hair was plastered on her face as tears streamed down her cheek "I saw..I saw."

Melissa cloaked her nude form in a large towel as she rubbed her back soothingly "What did you see, Lydia?"

But she could only repeat the same words "I saw, I saw."

* * *

Derek's POV

The cream tangerine sky darkened as the sun sank past the tree line. Derek was on his porch enjoying the view one last time. This was the last time he would come back to this retched place, it was filled with nothing but anger, violence, and ash. He had a new place, not so conventional or comfy…It was an abandoned subway station.

Derek's head lifted to the night air as he heard the sound of a chamber being loaded…hunters. They were no doubt after him, looking for vengeance for Kate Argent. But it was the familiar scent of Scott McCall that worried him, the young Beta was tracking down Niki, unaware of the hunters. Derek leaped off the porch and landed on his fist as he slowly began his wolf like transformation. He had to find Scott before it was too late.

The Alpha lopped on all fours with such great speed that the trees seemed to blur past him. With a leap in the air he tackled down the clueless Beta, sending them both tumbling and crashing on the floor.

"What the hell Derek!?" Scott practically spat at him. The teenager stopped resisting when they picked up another scent…Another wolf.

Derek and Scott scurried behind an oak tree as they watched an Omega run straight into a trap. The Wild beast hung freely by his ankles, suspended in the air. Scott being the naïve tender hearted boy tried to run and save the stranger. But Derek's vice grip on his hoodie held him in place "We have to help him!" Scott pleaded. But it was too late as a group of hunters approached the helpless beast. Derek's face remained hard as stone, to his lack of surprise Gerard Argent was the leader of the group. The Alpha gulped hard as memories of the Argent Patriarch terrorizing his family played vividly in his mind. Derek's hand wrapped around Scott's mouth as he started to pull the two of them further into the shadows, he was not taking any risks of being seen.

Derek's eyes widened as Gerard shouted the words "There is no code!" with that he swung a great sword, cutting the Omega in half. Scott doubled over as Derek clenched his fists, hatred burned behind his red savage eyes. Scott looked up to him, his face pale as chalk "Th-That's Allison's Grandfather."

The Alpha could have been smug and say "I told you so." But instead he rested a hand on Scott's shoulder "We're in big trouble."

* * *

Stiles' POV

***Red lines of yarn stretched out like thin crooked fingers over a large map of Beacon Hills. Stiles was relentless as he tried to figure out Niki's whereabouts. Sure he didn't have super sensitive smelling or hearing, but he could still help with the power of deduction. His room was a mess, it had been for days with piles of unwashed clothes and homework scattered about.

The first push pin was pressed into Suicide Hill, where she fell. From there the yarn went all the way to the creek where Scott lost her scent, from there the yarn fanned out like a web of crimson. There were three cities surrounding Beacon Hills: Crystal Falls, a town of rich Yuppies, Black Star Canyon; a haunted town filled with urban legends, and folks polishing their guns on their porches, or Brookside, a young college town. Stiles narrowed his eyes as his fingers traveled along the red fiber as thought dawned on him; she could still be in Beacon Hills. Beacon Hills had plenty of abandoned warehouses, malls, even subways.

Just then the front door slammed open, Stiles looked to the clock, it was after two a.m. Meaning all the bars were closed, meaning his father was home. ..

Stiles' body stiffened as he listened to the sloppy footsteps stumble towards the kitchen. His father hadn't had a drop of liquor in years, but with Nikita missing and the Chief of Police hounding him every waking second it was hard not to fall back into old ways. Stiles made his way downstairs to see his father's face buried in piles of paper work.

"Dad, how did you get home?"

His father looked at him with a weak smile and glazed eyes "A young gentleman was kind enough to drop me off home." The smell of whiskey was practically radiating off of him. Without a word Stiles went to the fridge and made his father a sandwich. Carefully he cut the crust off and cut it diagonally, just like his mother used to do.

The two men sat in comfortable silence as they enjoyed the sandwich together, not a word was spoken until they were done.

"It just doesn't make sense." The sheriff muttered as he ran his fingers through his sandy hair "She's here one day, gone the next….how is it even possible?" His hand reached out for a bottle of whiskey, which Stiles carefully pushed away.

Stiles used a soft voice, any harsher and it may set his father off. "C'mon dad, you need to sleep."

To his surprise his father listened as he got up, a little too fast as he stumbled backwards. Stiles caught his arm and balanced him. The two of them made it up the stairs with difficulty as his father swayed back and forth. His father's eyes were plastered shut as his lips quivered "Stiles….I just want you to know."

Immediately he felt an emotional moment coming, but Stiles wasn't emotionally stable to handle his father breaking down in front of him.

"I want you to know how proud I am of you, I don't say it as often as I should."

A lump started to build in the back of his throat as his eyes stung with tears, but he had to stay strong for the both of them. Stiles bit his bottom lip trying his best to keep his emotions in check as he tucked his father in bed. His soul cringed as his father looked to him with sleepy eyes "You'll make an amazing detective one day, son. And…And whenever I look at you…I see your mother."

Wordlessly Stiles turned off the lights and headed out the room, the walk back to his room felt like it took forever as he choked back his tears. He had to stay level headed, for his father's sake, for Scott's sake, for his own sake….For Niki's sake.

Stiles collapsed face first onto his bed as he let out a groan into his pillow, he hadn't slept since she disappeared. He wanted to dream of her again, hold her again, kiss her again. But the hallow cavity in his chest kept him up all night, the idea of her being lost, hurt, and terrified tore him to pieces.

With every blink of an eye his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he finally surrendered to sleep, hoping to see her in his dreams once more.

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Bzzzz…

Bzzzz….

Bzzzz…

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Stiles shot up from bed as his cell phone vibrated in his room. His room was so messy he had absolutely no idea where it could possibly be. He groggily followed the annoying sound, it was buried in a pile of dirty laundry. With a groan and half lidded eyes he began to dig through the heap of clothes. He pressed the phone to his cheek to hear absolute silence.

"Scott it's 3 am, I swear if this is about Allison I will skin you alive and make myself a parka."

The voice on the other end finally answered "S-Stiles? "Stiles..I-Im s-so cold."

Stiles' eyes shot wide open as a female was sobbing on the other end, this must have been a trick, he must have been dreaming "Niki!?"

"Stiles..I-Im s-so cold."

**Hehe thanks so much for reading, I can't wait to begin the next chapter :D leave me some love!**


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